Destiny Part II: Beast of the Void
by Zazikel10
Summary: "Never die with regrets, kid. They'll haunt you. Even in death."
1. The Semblence of Normalcy

The opening for this book is "Bluebird" by Ikimono Gakari. This takes place around 1 year after _House of Devils_. Enjoy!

* * *

 _The Semblance of Normalcy_

The Devil Walker's cannon fired; barely missing the tall Guardian's head and blackening the back wall of the Divide. The Warlock leapt backwards and glided toward the shed behind him, dropping behind cover where his teammate was also stationed.

"Fuck! That one blew out my ear!" Aro cursed as Kain, his Ghost, fixed any damage to his eardrums.

The Hunter, Asura, laughed, "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Not recently." he answered, taking his friend's bait.

The expected teasing tone entered his voice, "What about Daniel? Ya kiss him?"

Aro shoved the Exo Hunter off the building. He hit the ground on his feet and immediately bounced back up, laughing.

"THIS IS NOT THE TIME!" Crona roared over the comms, causing the two to flinch. She had stationed herself on the other side of the Divide, a large expansive space that separated the Docks and the Refinery of the Cosmodrome on Earth. And a popular gathering site for Fallen. They had been sent there to run errands for the Tower and a Fallen Walker was unexpectedly dropped on them.

"There go the eardrums again." Aro groaned, still under cover. He popped up from cover to shoot at the leg of the Walker, it's usual weak spot, and ducking when the giant machine responded in kind. Despite also being called a "Spider Tank", the mech only had 6 legs and a large abdomen filled with small fighter drones called Shanks. It had a small Arc powered turret gun on its mouth and a larger version mounted on its back. But it's most powerful weapon by far was its long heavy cannon mounted at the top of its back. Two of its legs were already highly damaged and the machine was on the verge of dropping but for now, it was still standing and still fighting.

"Quit whining. What's the plan? It's almost down. Neither mine nor Asura's Super abilities are fully charged after the last time we used them."

"That's because you missed…" Asura said.

"Be quiet!"

"How the hell do you miss with a Fist of Havoc?!"

"Will you shut up?!"

Answer me woman!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

"You're gonna have to make me." he challenged. Asura suddenly fell backwards, something ricocheted off his shoulder.

"Hey! She shot me." He said, disbelieving. "You shot me!"

"Did I?" came the faux innocent reply.

"You shot me in the shoulder!"

"That's because I missed your head! Now stand still…" He quickly ducked, not hoping to test if she was serious."

"This was a bad idea…" Asura's Ghost, Spirit, mumbled.

"What? Choosing a trigger happy maniac as a teammate?" Asura said, still hiding from both the Walker and Crona.

"No. Taking a bunch of superhuman, near godlike trigger happy maniacs with no fear of death and even less regard for their own semi-mortality and GIVING…THEM…GUNS!"

Laughing at the Ghost's outburst, Aro leapt off the building just as the Walker fired its cannon again;flying clear over the blast. Feeling the power boil up inside him, he became illuminated in violet light. He mustered all the energy he could into the palm of one hand and shaped it into a sphere. The Voidwalker spiked the Nova Bomb directly at the Devil Walker's side. Despite being several tons in weight, the machine was knocked back by the force of the impact. The Nova Bomb's explosion left a contained, swirling black hole that slowly broke down its victims to a near molecular level. The Walker desperately tried to stand itself back up after the attack but it's legs gave out and collapsed with a mighty crash, the mechanical beast was dead.

Asura leaped off the building and Aro slowly floated to the ground. Crona joined them, "You've had that in you this whole time? What were you waiting for?" the Titan asked, "Dramatic effect?"

Aro pointedly looked away without answering.

Laughing at his friend's response, Asura jumped up and planted himself on top of the still burning carcass of the dead Walker. Stomping on its head, he asked, "Remember the first time we faced one of these?"

"Yes actually. The nightmares lasted for about a week." Crona said, knocking caked mud off her armored shoulder, "Can we leave now?" she asked Aro.

"One second…" he assured, punching through the metal husk of a downed Shank and ripping out a dirty Shock Core, "This is the last one. Now we can go."

"Great…because they just sent reinforcements."

As if on cue, two Fallen Skiffs rapidly descended from the sky. Without another word, Crona and Sol, her Ghost, returned to orbit. Asura waved at the Fallen ships and returned his own as well. With only one target left, the ships' weapons aimed themselves at Aro.

"Uh Kain? Anytime…"

The weapon fired. Aro's Ghost teleported him out of the Cosmodrome and back into orbit as the attack struck the spot where the Warlock used to be.

* * *

Dropping into his ship, Aro was greeted with brightly lit computers and a dark starry sky.

"That was a close call. What the heck were you waiting for?" Aro demanded of his Ghost.

"Dramatic effect."

"BAHAHAHA-" Aro cut off the comms, silencing Asura's obnoxious laugh. The Earth rotated beneath them. Behind and in front of him were Crona and Asura respectively, waiting for him to set off. He sat down in the chair at the front, took off his helmet and just stared out the window silently as Kain input the coordinates and set off. As the ship silently sped through the atmosphere, he picked up his helmet again and observed his reflection. Dark skin, even darker brown eyes constantly mistaken for black and kinky, sparse hairs matching his shaved head growing on his face.

"I should probably shave soon."

"Maya thinks you should grow it out." his Ghost said.

"Not really looking to take grooming advice from a 10 year old girl but tell her thanks anyway."

"Well we finished early so you can tell her yourself."

The City came into view barely a hours later and it was active as usual. At the center was the Tower, where he worked and lived. None compared to the massive white sphere that floated above the City. No matter how many times he saw it, it was always eye catching. The Traveler was the source of power for the Ghosts and their Guardians. It appeared suddenly several centuries ago and pushed humanity into the Golden Age of exploration and technological advancement. It's long pursuer quickly and suddenly caught up to it. The Darkness and its armies ravaged humanity, pushing them from the edge of the Solar System to one City on Earth. It's been several hundred years and humanity is still fighting to reclaim their history.

The ships docked and Aro exited his own, his uniform, consisting a black cargo pants, boots, a grey shirt and black jacket with the insignia and elemental symbols for the Warlock Order on the back, replacing his armor. Amanda Holliday, the Shipwright for the Guardians and a good friend of the team waved him over.

"Just wanted to say thanks for the Shock Cores. Really appreciate it."

"It was no problem at all. We were happy to help." he replied with a small smile.

"Well thanks again. Oh and before you leave, the Vanguard had some news for you and your team. They should be getting it to you by tomorrow so be on the look out."

"Will do. I'll see you later."

The three walked out of the Hangar on the top floor of the Tower. It was busy as usual but nothing Aro had never seen. Entering their dorm, Asura planted himself in front of the television and Aro went into his bedroom; their usual spots.

"We finished early but we promised we'd help Kayla in the lab later." Kain said as Aro entered his room. He peeled off his shirt, dropped onto the bed and realized he had forgotten something. He unwrapped the tattered piece of cloth tied to a belt loop and placed it on his desk. It was the cloth Kain had found on him when they had first met. He had made a habit of keeping it on him when he was sent out on missions. Kain had incorporated it into his armor so it would repair along with the armor should it get destroyed. It provided him with a goal in life; find out who put it there and why. But with everything else that had happened last year since he was raised from the dead, it went much deeper than he originally believed. After a few more minutes, he redressed and left his apartment for the lab Kayla told him she would be in.

He knocked on the open door. "Kayla? You in here?" The navy blue Exo with a neon orange 7 on her face turned around at her name and waved him in. She was hunched over and working on a small device and moving back and forth to a computer monitor behind her. "You guys are back early."

"Yeah we encountered a Fallen Devil Walker."

"Again?!"

"Yep. Brought a lot of Shanks with it. Sooooo what is this?"

Kayla picked it up. Kain hovered in closer. "You remember Rasputin right?"

"He's hard to forget."

"Well believe it or not, he still talks to me. And he's been telling me that he needs help with buffing up his connections to Mars. He's been trying for a while now and decided I can help him speed it up."

"Just Mars? Why not Venus and the Moon?"

"The Vex Minds have Venus on lockdown. The Hive and the Fallen House of Exiles have done the same with the Moon. If we can reduce their presence there, then it would become a possibility but for now, Mars seems to be our best option. As strong as the Cabal are, they aren't even at our level technologically."

He moved in closer to the device, "And this would strengthen his connection to Mars?"

"Hopefully. I've been building it to his specifications."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Random things. You're my errand boy for the rest of the day."

"I haven't even eaten yet!"

She had her Ghost, Sixx, pass him some Glimmer, "Go buy yourself something nice."

"You're so good to me." he said dryly before walking out of the lab to find a meal.

After he got back, he did whatever she requested of him. Whether it was fetching a part or a tool from another part of the Tower or monitoring the device's activity on the computer when it was hooked up until about nightfall, when they took a break.

"So when are you and Daniel going to happen?" She questioned.

Are sighed, "Why does everyone keep asking me that? I don't know alright?"

"Everyone is asking because everyone knows you like each other. You're both terrible at hiding it. You can feel the sexual tension in the air." she said, grabbing at the empty space.

Knocking her hands away, Aro leaned back on his chair, "I've been thinking about talking to him…"

"For a year?"

"Shut up. And yes."

She laughed, "Don't worry, he feels the same."

"Should you be telling me this?"

"Mmmm no not really. So…" her tone went from joking to somber, "How is Asura?"

"You talked to him before we left."

"By Asura, I mean Wrath-A."

"That's what we're calling it now?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Well there are two Wraths and that's what the Vanguard calls it."

"Well he seems fine. But he's shown to be good at hiding it so I can't tell."

"Any sign of the others?"

It may have been a year but the Heralds were still fresh in his mind. Gluttony, Wrath and Lust, known in life as Toland, Kabr and Dredgen Yor. Guardians who had been declared dead, pledging their loyalty to the Darkness and their efforts to humanity's extinction. And they need him to do it, so they were tasked with keeping him alive until the time was right.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they simply keep out of sight but no, I haven't seen them."

"The Vanguard has been keeping you off the most dangerous missions to minimize their presence. I doubt that'll work for long."

"Same."

Kayla went quiet for a minute and then asked, "How do you plan to fight them should they show up and try to take you?"

"…I don't know honestly. I'm not even worried about myself as much as anyone else who runs into them. They only need to keep me alive…"

"So what's to stop them from killing anyone who gets in their way? Kill Crona and Asura then drag you far away from them and the tether would snap. They'd be lost forever." she finished for him.

"I know. I know. I just…" he groaned, "I'm just confused."

"Everyone is. You're not alone."

He chuckled, "Thanks."

They continued working well into the night until both left for home. Aro returned to his room, took a bath and dropped onto his bed. He hadn't had a nightmare in a long time, despite everything that was going on and he still didn't know why. After the fight against Sepiks Prime and meeting the Heralds for the first time, they just seemed to stop suddenly.

For now, life was good, things were calm. Normal. At least a Guardian's version of normal. He just hoped it would stay that way a bit longe


	2. Promotions

_Promotions_

"Any clue what we're here for? Kain asked, flying around Aro's head. The three had agreed to meet up in front of the Vanguard Hall before their scheduled meeting.

"Asura probably did something to get us in trouble. Like jump off the Tower again." Aro grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Didn't Crona throw him off for cheating at that game?"

"Oh yeah…" he chuckled softly, "Spirit was right. We are crazy."

"I warned you that game was a bad idea. Speaking of which, where are they?".

They had been the first of the three to arrive at the Vanguard's Hall. The people briskly walking up and down the ornate halls paid the two and their conversation no mind. Things had been much busier around the Tower ever since their defeat of Sepiks Prime last year. Aro didn't blame them nor did he find it surprising. With their High Servitor gone, a lot of things could happen. There was the possibility of the other Fallen Houses moving in to take over. Or now seeing the Guardians as a legitimate threat, join forces with the Devils. The Hive coming one step closer to usurping the Fallen on Earth. Or even the Kell of Devils making an appearance. For the Vanguard to request a personal meeting at a time like this meant something very big. Aro could already guess what it was about.

The door to one of the Vanguard meeting rooms suddenly opened, snapping Aro out of his internal dialogue. Kayla walked out first, followed by her team, the Hunter, Erek and the Titan, Daniel. Erek closed the door behind him and suddenly threw his hands up. The tall Awoken man turned around with his eyes wide and mouth open in a silent cheer. He suddenly grabbed Aro in a crushing hug.

"We've been promoted to Rank 3. He's excited." Erek's Ghost, Eren, explained after seeing Aro's confused and suffocating expression.

"VENUS BABY!" Erek whisper-screamed, finally letting him go.

"Yeah yeah, let's go." Kayla said, pushing him out of the hall with Eren close behind, leaving just Daniel behind with Aro. Daniel's normally expressionless eyes suddenly widened in realization and then glared in annoyance that his team had left him there for a reason.

After a few seconds of silence, Daniel sat down and asked, "So what about you? What are you in for?"

"The Vanguard requested us today after we got back from our mission yesterday." Aro answered, dropping down next to him.

Daniel nodded and became silent again. His habit of rarely talking, his stoic face and his size and rather muscular build intimidated most people. Aro felt rather calm around him. They talked about things that neither usually told others.

Hoping to end the silence, Aro asked, "So how's Maya?"

A rare small smile appeared on his face at the thought of his kid sister, "She's doing great."

"Good to hear."

"She has been acting strange lately though..."

Aro's brow furrowed, "How so?"

Daniel shook his head, "Nothing serious. Its just that sometimes I hear her talking to herself. And she'll fall asleep at the window, staring at the Traveler."

Aro nodded, "What about Christine?"

"Graduated top 5%, starts medical school in a few months." The smile got wider and he started rubbing his thumb against his watch. A solid gold watch he inherited from his father with instructions to protect at all costs.

"Is she still talking to Shino?"

Smile dropped slightly. "Unfortunately. Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy and a great friend but he's such a bad influence. Erek was tolerable to be around until they met."

Aro snorted slightly in laughter. After he calmed down, he softly asked, "How about Tarlowe?"

Smile gone, "No clue."

"You don't check in on him?"

"He's an adult. He can handle himself." He was starting to get annoyed at the talk about his eldest brother.

"What are you two fighting about now?"

Daniel didn't answer, just continued to make faces like a child.

"You don't even remember…" Aro realized, a disbelieving smile crossing his face.

"Whatever." he mumbled, standing up. Asura and Crona were starting to walk in. "I'll see you around." he said.

Aro simply waved him goodbye. Daniel turned a corner and was suddenly shoved back by what looked like a light blue hand. He seemed to be arguing with someone on the other side of the corner before he sighed and turned to Aro. "Uhh…I was planning to go into the City to eat tonight. Would you like to come?"

Aro was taken back, "Um…yeah. Sure."

"Great. I'll see you tonight." And this time, the blue hand let him through.

Asura and Crona had reached him without his notice. "Why were Erek and Kayla hiding behind the corner?" Crona questioned.

" _So that's who that was…_ " Kain said inside his head.

"Forget that! Aro's got a date!" Asura said loudly, earning a few looks. Aro looked down, embarrassed. His Ghost, Spirit, appeared over his shoulder, "Asura you're embarrassing him."

"That was the point."

The door opened again. Cayde-6 stuck his head through the opening, looked the three up and down and said, "I thought I heard you three out here. Come in." he said, opening the door wider.

"Take a seat, you three." Zavala said, his tone stern.

"Is something wrong sir?" Aro asked, slightly worried.

"What? No, not at all." his answered, his face softening slightly.

"It's actually good news." Cayde said, sitting in between Ikora and Zavala.

"I'm sure Erek told you he and his teammates were promoted to Rank 3. Well you three are also being promoted. To Rank 2. With access to Rank 2 weapons and armor, Heavy weapons and the Moon." Ikora announced.

Crona's eyebrows shot up at the news but she regained her composure a second later. Then she asked, "Isn't it a bit early for us?"

"We thought so too. But you did kill the Servitor. That helped a lot."

The three went silent. The battle a year ago was still fresh in their minds. "We did have help sir." Aro started, knowing what he was leading to.

"Which brings us to the next subject." Cayde's voice lowered, becoming unusually serious, "And you remember, nothing we say is to be heard by the other Guardians. The only people in the City outside of this room who know anything are Kayla-7, Daniel, Erek and the Speaker."

"Yes sir." The three answered.

"Good. We've had Guardians stationed in different areas of the Cosmodrome, the Ocean of Storms, the Ishtar Sink and Meridian Bay, keeping track of any changes in the enemy movement for the last year." He pressed a few buttons on the table dividing the room and three holographic bodies appeared in the middle of the table. A massive Exo, a white haired Awoken male and a black haired Awoken male. Kabr, Toland and Dredgen Yor or Wrath, Gluttony and Lust respectively. It was disconcerting to see their faces again after spending so much time just thinking of the memory.

"Have you seen any sign of the Heralds since the Devil's Lair?" Ikora asked.

"None. Every time we go out anywhere, we always keep a look out but no, no sign of them." Asura responded.

"Well we have a theory on their names or titles." Ikora continued, "Asura, the other Wrath, the one inside of you told you that "Our sins invite the Darkness." Correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

"And the Heralds are named after 3 of the 7 deadly sins. We can already suspect that there are 4 more Heralds, all former Guardians, and that their new names have something to do with how they were in life or the way they died."

"It's only a theory and so far it only seems to apply well to Lust. Not as well with Gluttony and almost not at all with Wrath." Zavala continued for her, "Lust is pretty self explanatory. Dredgen Yor went from a noble hero to a bloodthirsty monster after he allowed the Darkness into his head, murdering just for the fun of it. A "lust" for power and blood, you could say. 3 Guardians, 3 civilians and his own Ghost."

The last part disturbed the young group slightly. The thought of a Guardian murdering their own Ghost was unsettling.

"Toland had a morbid interest in the Hive and the Darkness. He's incessant poking into matters that mortals have no business in, despite constant warnings, resulted in his banishment."

"So gluttonous…for the Darkness?" Crona asked, confused, "That doesn't make much sense."

He laughed. "I told you it was a stretch." Zavala admitted. "He died on the Moon, when he and 5 other Guardians attempted to take down the Hive god-prince, Crota. We don't know the details leading up to his death."

"Kabr, however, rarely ever spoke and showed anger even less often, much less wrath. Maybe it was a postmortem naming…" Zavala wondered.

"Postmortem?"

"Kabr was killed by the Vex in the Vault of Glass. Before he died, he made sure his friend and teammate, Pahanin Errata, got out alive. Errata was later one of the Guardians murdered by Dredgen Yor, along with Hunter Jaren Ward and Titan Thalor."

"We don't know the exact details of what they saw in the Vault of Glass on Venus but Pahanin was disturbed to the point of a radical personality change. A brave Hunter suddenly became too afraid to do the simplest Patrol missions by himself.

Aro, Asura and Crona remained silent, taking in the information.

"Any significant discoveries on the Gate?" Cayde asked, slight changing the subject.

"None." Aro answered, "No one seems to know anything about it."

"Asura. The images Wrath-A used to show you display a planet being taken by the Darkness correct?"

"Yes sir." he answered.

"They were surrounded by ships you believe belong to the Hive?"

"Yes sir." he repeated.

"That would mean that the Hive have done this before. With the Gate and the Heralds. What are the possibilities that they saved information on their methods?"

Aro perked up, "Do you believe they do?"

"We do." Ikora said, "Master Rahool has told us a massive library of information inside one of their temples on the Moon. That would be a good place to start."

"When do you want us to leave?" Aro said, determined at the thought of finally getting a leg up on the Heralds.

"Not at all. Too difficult. We'll be talking to the team that will be going tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow…"Cayde said, "You and Daniel's team will be coming with us to a meeting with the Consensus. It'll be early so I wouldn't stay up late if I was you."

Crona raised an eyebrow, "Is there a reason why?"

"Haven't you been out in the City recently? You six are celebrities. Reviving Rasputin and killing Prime. The members of the Consensus wanted to meet you."

The three still looked confused. Or at least Crona and Aro did.

"It's all politics. Just smile, shake hands, talk about your heroics facing Prime and remember, you say _nothing_ about the Heralds. Is that clear?"

The trio affirmed.

"Good. Now along with promotion to Rank 2, you will begin working in your second subclass powers. Bladedancer, Defender and Sunsinger." Ikora said, "We want you to have some kind of use before we send you on these difficult missions again so for now, you'll be limited to the Cosmodrome for now. Zavala, anything to add?"

Zavala just rolled his eyes and glared at the wall.

"Zavala?" Cayde asked.

A growl rumbled in his throat before he took 3 envelopes out of his jacket and slid them across the table.

Quickly opening the envelope, Crona read it quickly before saying out loud, "It's a Crucible invitation."

Zavala growled again, eyes closed. Cayde clapped a hand on his shoulder, "You don't sound happy for your daughter and her team."

"Well I'm not particularly excited at watching my daughter get shot."

"Then don't watch." Cayde said. Ikora started laughing. Zavala even looked more annoyed, before saying, "That's everything. You're dismissed."

The three stood to leave with Ikora and Cayde still laughing being the last thing they heard before the door closed.

They began the walk back to the residential area. "When they told us we'd be promoted, I was wondering when we'd get an invite to the Crucible."

"Do you know Shaxx personally?" Aro asked as they crossed into his hall.

"He's my godfather." The trio stopped in front of Aro and Asura's room when Aro realized something. "Crona, why are you still here?" he asked, while opening the door.

"What's up bud?!" Erek yelled, helping himself to their fridge. Kayla, sitting on the couch, looked over and waved with Crona pushing past to join her.

"The ceiling. Why are you all here?" Aro asked, closing his fridge.

"Movie night." he answered, opening the fridge again.

"Since when?!"

"Since about a month now."

"How come I didn't know about this?" Aro demanded Asura.

"It's not my fault you sleep like a corpse!" he said, shrugging. "I'm surprised you never heard us."

"Doesn't matter now." Erek pointed out, dropping in between Kayla and Crona. "You've got a date."

Aro had almost forgotten, "I can't believe you two forced him into that."

Kayla laughed, "What force?! We just…pushed him a bit. Now go make yourself pretty." shooing him away.

"Whatever." he grumbled, entering his room. "Heralds, Gateways, now I've got to worry about this." He said to his Ghost.

Kain appeared in front of him, "Guardian or not, you're still human. Superhuman, yes, but still human. You need to relax and enjoy yourself."

He sighed, quietly changing clothes. Crona had dragged him shopping some time before based on the fact he owned little else but a uniform. He kept the dog tags.

He left his room, passing by the other 4 planted on the couch, with Asura sprawled out along the laps of the others.

"Have fun tonight." Asura called as Aro walked out the door, "USE PROTECTION!"

Aro slammed the door but could still hear them laughing.

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading and comments are always appreciated.**_

 _ **For anyone confused on Ranks**_

 **Rank 1:LV 1-9**

 **Rank 2: LV 10-19**

 **Rank 3: LV 20-29**

 **Rank 4: LV 30 and up**

 **Rank 5: Vanguard**

 **Weapons and Armor:**

 **Rank 1: Common**

 **Rank 2: Uncommon**

 **Rank 3: Rare**

 **Rank 4: Legendary**

 **Rank 5: Exotic**

 **Rank Clearances:**

 **Rank 1: Access to Earth and Rank 1 Weapons and Armor**

 **Rank 2: Access to Moon and Rank 2 Weapons and Armor, solo missions allowed.**

 **Rank 3: Access to Venus, Mars and Rank 3, 4 and 5 Armor and Weapons**

 **Rank 4: Vanguard Eligible, Special ops(Nightfalls, Raids)**


	3. The Consensus

_The Consensus_

* * *

"I hate going to these things." Cayde whispered, adjusting his jacket.

"Same." Zavala agreed.

"A bunch of high nosed politicians yelling just to hear their own voices." Ikora grumbled.

"At the very least it's fun to watch." the Speaker said, optimistic as usual.

In addition to the promotion, Aro's team as well as Daniel's were invited by the Speaker and the Vanguard to attend a meeting with the Consensus, the ruling body of the City. Humans, Awoken and Exos littered the area, conversating at a quiet volume. The building where the Consensus met wasn't nearly as big as the Tower but it was big nonetheless.

Their group of 10 entered the double doors of the large ornate auditorium with seats stacked high. "Our seats are up there. Head on up, we'll meet you there."

"I've always wanted to see one of these…" Kayla said as they trudged up the stairs.

"Meh. You've seen it once, you've seen it a hundred times." Daniel grumbled, dropping into a seat.

"You've been to one of these before? Don't you need serious connections to sit in on one of these?" Erek asked.

"I was dragged along."

"By who?"

The large doors at the bottom of the room opened slightly. "Speak of the devil…" Daniel grumbled.

Tarlowe and another man stood at the base of the door, quietly talking. Tarlowe hadn't changed much since Aro had last seen him, besides growing a beard. Taller than Daniel, cleanly dressed and a charming smile on his face while he talked. The other man was dressed in bright red, ornate robes. He had a white scarf coming from his neck to his left hip, crossing his thin frame in the process and connected by a bright red pyramid with 3 black stripes coming through the middle. He wore an equally charming smile with a mouth that held the faint shadow of a recently shaved beard. He held a red and gold trimmed hat in his hands that he used to cover his short black hair.

Tarlowe and the robed man walked up to where the Guardians were sitting, greeting the Vanguard first, "Commander, Captain, Master, Speaker. It's good to see you all here. I'm sure you all know Executor Hideo."

"New Monarchy. Yes we've met." The Speaker answered politely. Taking notice of the six Guardians behind them, Hideo remarked, "So these are them?"

"Yes these are them."

Hideo shook each of their hands, "The Banes of Devils and the Saviors of Warminds. It's an honor. I look forward to hopefully working with you soon." Hideo nodded one last time at the Vanguard and left for his seat.

"Work with us?" Asura asked.

"There are three factions that Guardians regularly work with. New Monarchy, who works to abolish the Consensus and reclaim our lost Golden Age. Dead Orbit, who believes we should abandon Earth before the Darkness gets here and the Future War Cult, who believes there is a "be all, end all" war coming soon and that we should prepare. The more Guardians they recruit, the more influence they have." Kayla explained.

"Recruit them while they're young. Smart." Zavala admitted, taking the seat with his name on it.

"It's underhanded." Ikora spat, sitting next to him.

Tarlowe was still standing there, "I apologize. You know how they are. We'll talk later."

"Same Mr. Suros." The Speaker said, shaking his hand.

Tarlowe nodded at the Guardians, with a second nod to Daniel before leaving. People started to flood the the auditorium.

"Your last name is Suros?!" Crona whispered, surprised. Daniel sank deeper into his chair.

"The name sounds familiar…" Asura said, "The weapons manufacturer?"

"Yeah. My great grandfather started the company." he relented, "My father left it in the hands of the Board when he inherited it and Tarlowe took over when my father died on Venus."

"I was wondering why your house was so big…" Asura realized.

" _Guess I don't know him as well as I thought I did._ " Aro thought, thinking back to the night before.

" _Not your fault. His entire family is shrouded in mystery_." his Ghost assured him in his head.

Another young man, a tall, blue eyed, white haired Awoken quietly came into the filling auditorium. He shook Tarlowe's hand as he walked down the stairs and looked up to where he had come from. A warm smile once he spotted the group and quickly came up the stairs.

Commander Zavala stood first, a matching smile on his own face. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

Zavala the Second's or just "Z" smile became sheepish, "Sorry. Trey was making things a bit difficult for his mother and me." He subsequently shook the Speaker's, Ikora's and Cayde's hands. He moved up one more row and just stood in front of his sister with a mischievous look on his face. "So are you not going to greet your big brother?"

"I don't know you." she said, pointedly looking away.

"You know as well as I do I can stand here for a very long time."

She huffed annoyedly and smiled venomously, "Hello Junior, how are you this morning?"

His smile disappeared. "Don't do that."

"Do what Junior?"

"Play nice kids." Cayde said, leaning back. "Take your seat, Z. Meeting's about to start."

Z gave one last look at his sister that was a mix of annoyed and amused before leaving. She just stuck her tongue out at the back of his head once he turned around. Try as she might to seem like an adult, she was still a kid whenever her brother was around.

The Vanguard were very right. For an important meeting between professionals, there were a lot of raised voices and outright yelling. From what Aro observed, Z found it slightly entertaining. Tarlowe simply looked unamused. His irritated facial expression showed the familial resemblance between him and Daniel. Maybe that's why they fought so much...

Some of the main people driving the constant arguments were Executor Hideo and two others. An Awoken man with long black hair and a gravelly voice named Arach Jalaal and a pink and white Exo with small horns with bright blue eyes named Lakshmi-2 of Dead Orbit and Future War Cult respectively. They were discussing the Hive.

"I warned all of you! The Hive will never be satisfied until all remnants of the Light are snuffed out. We should have left this planet when we had the chance. But you let _their_ ego convince you otherwise." Jalaal said, pointing an accusing finger at Hideo, who glowered back.

"If what you say is true then it does not matter what we do or where we go, the Hive, no the Darkness will not stop until all of us are but a memory. The Hive are regaining their strength. It is only a matter of time until Crota follows them. We saw what he did on the Moon. We need to be ready to defend ourselves!" Lakshimi argued, "I refuse to have a repeat of the Great Disaster or a repeat of the Crota's Bane team. We must act now!"

"I agree." Hideo said, "And what better place to defend ourselves than on our own home front? With Sepiks Prime dead, the Fallen Devils are weakened. We remove the Fallen Devils, we can then attack the Fallen House of Kings. The Cosmodrome is ours for the taking. Not only that but we have not just one but _two_ Warminds on our side."

Kayla lowered her head slightly, uncomfortable with the eyes that turned to look at her.

"May I remind the Consensus that Kayla-7 is not fully the Warmind she once was before the Collapse, back when she was Nia." The Speaker said, "Granted she is incredibly intelligent, resourceful and can and regularly does communicate with Rasputin but her talents are best put to use as a Warlock."

Seeing that no one had a response to his reminder, he continued, "However, her conversations with Rasputin has led to some insight on what he can and cannot do in his current weakened state. We are working on an amplifier that could boost his connection to the other planets inside the Reef."

His announcements earned him surprised, near incredulous looks and whispered comments. Tarlowe spoke up, "Are we sure this amplifier works?"

"Kayla has been working on it for the last year now but there are almost no places we can properly run tests. " Ikora answered, "Completion should take no more than a month from now. The Vex have a total planetary hold on Mercury and are currently fighting the Fallen House of Winter on Venus while the Hive own the Moon, with the House of Exiles trying to usurp their power. Kayla believes the best place to run connect the amplifier is in Clovis Bray, the industrial complex in Meridian Bay."

"Are there any plans of moving beyond the Reef?"

Ikora faltered only slightly, "The Reef and their Queen add a… difficulty to the endeavor that we are not prepared to handle. Our best bet is to start with the inner planets."

"Their aloofness is beginning to get irritating." a middle aged woman commented, "The Darkness is as much of a threat to them as it is to us and we are the only ones well equipped to fight it. Why continue to maintain their distance?"

Murmuring filled the auditorium until Zavala voice rang out among the throng, "I was born and grew up on the Reef before I was made a Guardian. Reasons may have changed in such a long time but from what I remember, they believe that keeping their distance from the Light, as well as us, keeps the Darkness from their borders. But you are right, if the Reef would accept our efforts to open communications with them, Twilight Gap and the Reef Wars would have had a lot less casualties."

The six remained silent during the meeting. While the others seemed interested, bored or simply indifferent, Erek had a sour feeling to himself. His face didn't show it but part of being a Warlock was being able to sense the emotions of others. There was usually a range of emotions that individual Warlocks were adept at picking up. For Ikora, it was fear and intimidation. Given the rumors about her and her powerful abilities, it was no surprise people were frightened by her. Kayla, unsurprisingly, was a jack of all trades and Aro was best with anger, distaste and malice. He didn't feel anything from Erek until the topic of the Reef came up. Aro knew he was born there and left at an early age but Erek never specified why. Whatever it was, just the mention of the Reef brought up the negative feelings. Maybe Kayla would know why…

" _Or maybe its best if we just wait for him to tell us._ " Kain whispered into his mind.

" _...if you say so._ " Not fully agreeing.

The proceedings went on for several more hours before finally ending. No wonder Cayde hated it so much. Erek had fallen asleep and Daniel wasn't too far behind. Conversations permeated the auditorium and a few came up to talk to the Guardians. As he was instructed, Aro smiled, shook hands and told of his adventures, with absolutely no mention of the Heralds. But the talking grew tedious rather quickly. He would kill to be able to go home. He broke himself away from the growing crowd of Consensus members and sat off the a quiet corner by himself. He opened his palm, allowing his Ghost to materialize above it and lazily float around him. He just watched Kain observe the people for a few minutes until he felt a presence coming closer. He turned his head to see Tarlowe Suros sitting down next to him. He didn't react. He just assumed Tarlowe was as finished with it all as he was. \

Then he spoke up, "So how was your dinner last night?"

Was there anyone who didn't know?

Seeing his wide eyed expression brought out a slight laugh from Tarlowe, "Did you think it was out of the blue? Christine put the idea in his head."

Aro breathed out laugh, shaking his head. Their budding conversation was cut short by Lakshimi-2's appearance. She leaned down, speaking softly into Tarlowe's ear. Aro didn't pick up most of the conversation but could faintly make out the words..."Project Regime"?. Tarlowe's face remained expressionless as she talked.

A few seconds after she went silent, Tarlowe stood up, straightening out his suit and towering over her. He turned to Aro and his face broke into a small smile, "Sorry. Duty calls." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a familiar shimmering golden watch. He handed to Aro, "Make sure Daniel takes this." he said in a serious tone. It was the watch their father left behind, along with 4 others, the only thing they had in common was the material they were made of. Tarlowe inherited his father's gold wedding band, which he wore at all time. Daniel had received his father's gold watch, an item which he had a habit of abandoning. Whether it was genuine forgetfulness or to spite his dead father and his older brother was unclear. Maya inherited her mother's bracelet, Christine, her mother's necklace. All four with specific instructions to protect. No one had any idea why. Daniel didn't care.

Aro took the watch, promising to hand it over. Lakshimi-2 left and Tarlowe Suros followed close behind. Just as he did, Asura came over to retrieve Aro. The others were heading out. Aro quickly stood and walked to catch up with them, the sun almost blinding as they walked out of the building.

"So he really is alive…" the Exo softly whispered, a blue hood obscured the Exo's face. A small chattering came from the radio in her shoulder.

"Yes. Yes it's him. Here on Earth. He's acting strange. But yes. He's alive. Trying to repeat his actions on here on Earth, no doubt."

More chattering.

"Yes I'm sure. There's another man with him; a Gate. Just like last time. But not a complete one…strange."

Chattering…

"No. No reinforcements. I'll take care of him myself. And this time, I'll finish the job."

She stood up and in a flash of blue light, the Exo disappeared, the wind blowing softly against the pillar she previously perched on.

* * *

 _You should have known the Stranger would be making an appearance lmao_

 _Comments are always appreciated!_


	4. Elimination

_Just to clarify, italics when a Ghost is talking means they are speaking inside their Guardian's head._

* * *

 _Elimination_

"I've only ever bothered to watch a few of these. They bore me honestly." Aro admitted as he looked up at the large screen. It was their friends Mira, May and Shino vs another team of Guardians in an Elimination match.

"Pfft. Typical Warlock." Crona snapped, waving her hand dismissively.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means stop fucking thinking for once!"

"You're welcome to start, Titan! Life is more than punching things. "

"You watch your mouth." sticking an accusing finger in his face which he proceeded to swat away.

"Ladies! Ladies, please don't fight over me." Asura called behind them, green metal hands clapping on their shoulders, "There's plenty of me to go around."

"You're absolutely right." Crona admitted, lifting the hand on her shoulder. "I think I'll take this." she said, pretending to inspect his arm.

"I call the leg!" Aro added, earning him a metal punch to the shoulder. "Hey does anyone know where Daniel and the others are?"

Asura snorted, "Daniel and the others. They aren't Daniel so who gives a damn about the others?"

Crona struggled to stifle her laughter before answering, "Daniel and "the others" had some things to take care of. They won't be back till late at night."

Before Aro could defend his choice of words, the lights in the lounge started to dim and all the Guardians gathered in it started to quiet down. As much as Aro found the Crucible uninteresting, he had decided to gather the team to watch the matches, this time paying attention to how these things were won. His team had little opposition to his decision. Asura even spent some time making bets with other Guardians.

As expected, a loud voice came through the speakers in the room and the large emblem of the Crucible appeared on the larger screen. Lord Shaxx's voice boomed,

 _"For those who are unfamiliar with the rules of Elimination, teammates can revive each other, but cannot revive themselves. The first team to eliminate the other team wins the round. If neither team has been eliminated after the 15 minute time limit is up, a Control point will spawn on the map. The team that captures the point will win the round. If neither team captures the point within a certain period of time, whichever Guardian is the closest to the center of the point will win the round. The first team to win 3 rounds wins the match. Am I understood?"_

"Yes sir." Came the six responses in unison.

" _Then let's get started._ " The six ships split off into 2 groups of 3 and started to descend towards Firebase Delphi. The screen went black for a few seconds before lighting up again. Coming close to the ground, 3 Guardians were teleported from the ships. May dropped down to the right, Mira to the left and Shino, who had been randomly selected for flag duty, much to his excitement, dropped down in the center.

Shino slammed the pole onto the ground, causing a long navy blue flag to erupt from the top. " _Elimination. Mira, Shino, May. Team Mira. Alpha Team."_

The screen went black again and the same repeated for the second team, this time with an orange flag. " _Elimination. Katrina, Jessie, Sora. Team Katrina. Bravo Team._ " Aro had only seen Sora, a young human woman with short, pitch black hair and eyes just as dark, around the Warlock halls but did not know the other two. Jessie was a black and white Exo with shining blue eyes. Katrina was an Awoken woman who had piercing blue eyes with white hair just as radiant.

A clock appeared on screen and started to count down from 15 minutes. Without further hesitation, the teams moved out. Cameras and drones followed their every movement almost perfectly. From the looks of it, the match was over soon after it started. Team Katrina very quickly won the first two matches. Asura was losing his mind.

"You're gonna blow another fuse again, Asura. Please calm down." Spirit pleaded.

"I thought these bastards were good! Shino and I had a deal!"

"Wait, Shino knows you're betting on them?" Crona asked, disbelieving.

"They win, I buy him all the drinks he wants."

Crona laughed, "Sounds like a good deal! Shino'll probably be under the table after two drinks! Even May can out drink him. And she's tiny!"

"Everyone's tiny compared to Shino."

"Well the fight isn't over yet. Round Three's starting." Aro interrupted.

Looking back at the screen, he looked up just in time to see Team Mira talking quietly before quickly splitting off.

Shino and May quickly moved in on Katrina and Jessie, who didn't notice them until they were too close. At least that's how they made it seem. She suddenly spun around, flinging a knife in their general directing. It embedded itself into Shino's shoulder but the pain only seemed to egg him on. Shino fired his Shotgun point blank at the Hunter, taking her down. Using Shino's large frame to her advantage, May leaped clear over him and threw a Fusion Grenade at the still moving Jessie. The grenade stuck to the Titan and while using the Angel of Light ability to stay in the air, May unloaded her Auto Rifle in Jessie's direction. Jessie fell down and May dropped to her feet. She rose back up and snapped her fingers, causing the still stuck Fusion grenade to explode, finally killing Jessie.

"She's as good with flame control as Kayla is." Crona remarked impressed, eyes stuck on the battle.

"You've seen Kayla do that before?" Aro questioned.

"Yeah. When Rasputin first made contact with us. It was a while ago."

"Where the hell was this control in the last two rounds?!" Asura exploded again.

May and Shino's victory was short lived. A violet bolt of energy came straight down on them from above. Neither had time to move and were summarily obliterated by it. Sora had snuck up on them, taking advantage if their distraction from the radar.

"I guess it really is game over." Aro remarked. He admitted to himself that he was slightly disappointed. Three matches in a row over that quickly. Asura's head fell back in disappointment and several Guardians in the bar laughed at the impending victory.

A shining blue blade suddenly sprouted from Sora's chest, sending out spurts of blood with its exit. Mira appeared behind her out of thin air, body crackling with electricity. Cheers turned to exclamations of surprise and confusion as the crowd watched the match.

" _Elimination Round Three. Alpha Team._ " Shaxx seemed pretty pleased with the fact that the match would continue.

"That's Arc Blade right?" Crona asked, still surprised. "I thought Hunter's had knives, not glowing swords!"

"When Bladedancers master Arc Blade to a certain extent, we can channel our Light and elongate the blade with pure energy." Asura explained to her, seeming pretty relieved.

"So she used Shino and May as bait?"

"No..." Aro figured. "More like a distraction. She had Shino and May target Katrina and Jessie. All she had to do was stay out of sight."

The next round started and by her movements, Sora was obviously out for revenge. She quickly released an Axion Bolt grenade in Mira's direction. The bolt split into two smaller ones and went flying towards Mira and May. They turned tail and attempted to dodge the energy bolt but both knew a well placed Axion Bolt was impossible to evade. In a last ditch effort to take the enemy Warlock with her, Mira lept onto a tall ledge and used it to propel herself towards Sora and Katrina, the void bolt will tracking her. Just as she did, May threw another Fusion Grenade in their direction, just before the Axion Bolt struck her and took her out. The grenade planted itself in the ground near the enemy duo and exploded, knocking them back slightly. Just as it did, Mira collided with the other two Guardians and grabbed their wrists. Without hesitation, Sora and Katrina pointed their guns at her head and barely a second later, Mira exploded in an explosion of purple Light. Sora and Katrina, still shieldless from May's attack, were caught and evaporated in the explosion.

More exclamations of shock erupted from the crowd. A few even sprung from their seats in utter disbelief, demanding an explanation. Asura knocked his shoulder, "You seem to have an idea what's going on? Care to explain to the rest of the class?" Several Guardians turned around at the question and the entire room went quieter than it had been all day.

"Uh...we-well, it looks like Sora had the Axion Bolt set to cause whatever it came into contact with to explode. May threw the grenade to weaken their shields and Mira must have gotten as close as possible to make sure they were caught in it too." Aro stuttered, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. Everyone paying attention seemed impressed. Whether by Mira's actions or Aro's quick assessment and explanation, he wasn't sure. The match wasn't over yet and in the time it took aro to explain, Shino had cornered Jessie inside the base.

Shino was well known to never hold back in a fight and Jessie was not taking the chance of getting close to him. That didn't stop him from trying. She aimed a Rocket Launcher right at his approaching form and fired. He quickly dropped and slid along the ground, the missile barely grazing the top of his head. He immediately fired back to force her head down and continued moving closer. She took out her Pulse Rifle and started firing. " _Her movements are getting frantic._ " Kain noticed. Aro repeated its words out loud and the others nodded absent mindedly, too enthralled in the fight.

Shino could tell it too, judging by the way he was able to jerk from side to side, dodging the attacks. He was taking a big risk getting in close to the other Titan but the Pulse Rifle soon ran empty and without reloading it, Jesse switched back to her Rocket Launcher. She fired. Shino dropped to his knees, sliding under the projectile and hopping back up to his feet. She fired again and this time, Shino jumped, cartwheeling through the air with the rocket flying harmlessly under his now airborne body, before landing hard on the ground again.

The single move had the entire lounge in an uproar, some, like Asura, cheering and applauding while others groaned and cursed. Aro was shocked and just as impressed.

" _Never seen a Titan move like that._ "

" _That's another lesson. Never assume."_ Kain said.

Shino had gotten closer and the gunfight turned into a fist fight. Shino took advantage of Jessie's surprise, delivering a thunderous knee to her chest and sending her flying back against a wall. He jumped into the air, preparing to slam down on her but she quickly rolled to the side, spinning her legs to stand and knocking him away. Unfazed, Shino ran back at her, throwing a punch at her head, which she twisted to dodge and delivered a hard kick to his head.

"They've obviously sparred before." Crona said under her breath. The clock continued to count down as the two Titans fought to a standstill. Neither seemed to be able to get a solid, debilitating hit on the other. Jessie caught Shino's incoming fist by his wrist and stopped the incoming second the same way, trying to push against the man. He was barely pushing back.

Aro noticed it first. His left fist wasn't completely closed and his thumb had just lifted up. As a matter of fact, it was holding something. Something that he soon let drop to the ground.

A Lightning grenade.

Jessie noticed it and pushed away too late. The grenade activated, sending out tendrils of Arc lightning into the nearest conductors. Jessie and Shino were sent flying back from the shockwave. Neither moved. But Shaxx's voice never came on to announce a draw.

Someone was still alive.

The crowd of Guardians moving closer to the screen collectively paused in anticipation.

Jessie's Ghost appeared over her body.

Shino's never did. His leg slowly but surely pulled into his body, painfully standing himself up. Another massive mix of groans and cheers sprung from the crowd.

" _Elimination. Round 4. Team Mira._ "

Each team was transported back to their starting points to begin the final round.

"That was risky." Crona said, releasing the breath she had been holding.

"Not the best thing to do if you're not a Sunsinger." Sol finished.

"Take notes Aro." Asura said, elbowing him. Aro simply elbowed him back.

" _Asura's right though. Fire has a way of spinning out of control and burning its handler if they're not careful._ " Kain said in his head, " _We could use that to our advantage. At least once you gain the ability to bring yourself back._ "

" _You really plan on lecturing me throughout the entire match, don't you?_ "

" _Can you blame me? We've made some very powerful enemies and we can't just pretend they fell off the face of the Earth simply because we haven't seen them in a year. We need to be ready. Especially Crona and Asura._ "

Kain was right. As usual. After a little while, Aro's focus returned to the match, only to see the clock ring zero. Had he been inside his own head that long?

" _Time is up!"_

All six Guardians froze, mid-fight, at the sound of Lord Shaxx's command.

" _Since none of you have succeeded in putting a bullet in the other's skull, a checkpoint has appeared around 200 meters from where you are currently standing._ "

As he said, a large pole rose from the ground and a glowing circle appeared around it.

" _I'd get moving if I were you._ "

With a final look at the others, Mira took off running. Every other Guardian followed suit. It was a mad dash to the Control point. It was almost like they had completely forgotten their weapons.

Mira was getting closer and closer to the checkpoint. Sora suddenly stopped in her tracks, drawing confused exclamations from the Guardians in the lounge. Her body burst into brilliant yellow light and the familiar fiery wings sprouted from her back. Neither Mira, May nor Shino noticed her. They were closing in on the finish line.

"Is Radiance really the best thing to do right now?" Asura asked. Even he was confused.

"She's planning something…" Spirit guessed. The Ghost was right. Sora leapt into the air. To the entire room's surprise and at an amazing speed, Sora quickly formed and launched a Nova Bomb. Only this one was had tinges of golden light emanating from it and was twice as big as normal. The bolt crashed near the Control point, creating a monstrous explosion. All three members of Team Mira went flying from back from the impact. Sora dropped to the ground and to her knees, seemingly paralyzed.

"She can't move." Crona breathed.

"A double Super. No wonder she can't even stand. I wouldn't be surprised if she was bleeding through her nose or coughing it up." Sol said, surprise in the Ghost's voice

Jessie and Katrina kept going, taking advantage of their teammate's attempt to buy time. After that, it was a surprise that the others weren't dead. Shino picked himself up and saw how far ahead the other team had gotten. They'd never catch up.

"Sorry May. I owe you one."

"Wait what? _Hey!_ " she yelped as he effortlessly picked her up. With the Warlock in his arms, he jumped and lifted himself up onto the roof of the base, running along the edge. Mira, still on the ground, lobbed a grenade at Jessie, which burst into tiny Arc powered drones and exploded, knocking her down. Shino soon reached the end of the roof closest to the Control point and lifted into the air again. Katrina was still closing in. Shino's body suddenly burst into lightning and he and May dropped down towards the point.

Katrina entered the glowing circle and she suddenly turned around, a flaming pistol aimed straight at the incoming Titan.

Shino's Fist of Havoc made contact with the desert ground and Katrina fired all three shots, crumbling the area around it and kicking dust into the air from the resulting explosion. The crowd held their collective breaths. The cloud was so thick that the drones seemed to not sense any movement at all. The dust suddenly and rapidly cleared away to reveal May, in a state of Radiance, touching the pole. Both Shino and Katrina were down for the count.

" _Elimination victors: Alpha Team!_ "

The Tower lounge erupted in another mix of cheers and groans, louder than ever before.

Even Crona was agape, "He knew he wouldn't survive but May could resurrect herself right on the point." she turned her head towards Aro, smirking, "You know what that means, right?"

"No?"

Asura butted in, "It means that the second you master Radiance, you're essentially bullet fodder."

The match ended with Team Mira as the victors. The bar never calmed down from the upset win. Asura was having the time of his life, gloating over the victory and collecting his dues.

The bar was loud well into the night and the applause suddenly kicked up again. Shino stomped down the stairs, Jessie holding his arms up triumphantly. The other 4 came in after, conversing behind the tall Titans. The teams split off after, Katrina, Sora and Jessie disappearing into the crowd.

"Congrats." Crona greeted May as she sat down next to her. The Awoken woman smiled sheeply and opened her mouth to respond...

"Why thank you." Shino interrupted, shoving himself in between the two and wrapping a muscular arm around Crona's neck. "Seeing as it was my quick thinking that won us the match." Crona quickly shoved him off.

"Throwing her?!" Mira exploded. She moved a brown dreadlock out of her eyes. "You could have at least asked first."

"It's ok Mira. Really." May was always soft spoken, rarely getting in between her teammates almost hourly arguments.

"I'm just saying." Mira huffed.

"Sure, whatever. Now Asura, buddy." Shino said, clapping a hand on his shoulder and then shaking his hand from the pain of hitting metal so hard, "About those drinks you owe me..."

* * *

A few hours passed and the lounge hadn't calmed down in the slightest. Shino was telling another one of his over dramatic stories louder than he usually was, a sign he was drunker than usual. Mira and Sora were laughing and conversing like old friends.

"He's already wasted on 4 drinks. At least he's finally building up tolerance." Aro turned towards the voice speaking to him, seeing Katrina drop down onto the stool next to him. Aro chuckled slightly to hide his surprise, "You know him well?"

"Just a friend."

"I'm not surprised. They seem to know everyone." he said, turning back towards the throng of people.

"They probably do. Warlock right? I've heard about you and your team."

Aro's smile lowered slightly, "Yeah, the whole Sepiks Prime thing. Nothing special, really." he said, downing another drink. The movement seemed to have the room spinning in circles. Maybe it was time to slow down...

Katrina laughed, "Just a thing? No need to act so humble. We've been hunting Prime for years.

Aro grabbed and knocked back another of Asura's drinks. " _I thought you were slowing down._ " Kain warned in his head.

" _Maybe if I collapse, it'll change the subject. The Heralds are the last thing I want to be thinking about right now._ "

" _There are other ways of distracting yourself."_

"Sorry I'm rambling again, aren't I?" she said, catching his attention again.

"What? No, no not at all." Aro denied, watching her finish off another drink.

"Sorry, its just that you seem distracted. Should I just leave?" she asked, smiling again.

The room was really spinning now. Aro mulled over Kain's words for another second before answering, "Well if you plan to continue complimenting me, you're welcome to stay."

She laughed slightly, "Complimenting you?"

"You know." he continued sarcastically, "How _amazing_ it was that my team beat Prime. How well trained and talented we must be. How pretty I am."

Katrina almost spit out her drink laughing at the last one.

" _What are you doing?_ " Kain asked.

" _Distracting myself, like you said. I deserve to have fun don't I? Your words._ " Even in his head, the words seemed slurred together.

Aro ended the internal conversation at that and turned to face the table again. He picked up another drink and handed one to Katrina, who had finally come down from her fit of laughing.

How many did Asura order anyway?

* * *

 _Not my best work, I admit. Its severely edited down. Its now 10 pages on Google Docs. Before it was 15 o_o_

 _Anyway comments are always appreciated._


	5. This World and the Next

_Super short chapter. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _This World and the Next_

Aro's eyes sprang open and not even a second after, he felt what was probably the worst pain of his short, restarted life. His head felt like a Fallen Ketch had been rammed into it, moved back and rammed into him again. And again. And again. It hurt just to think.

" _MORNING_!" Kain suddenly yelled into his mind. He grimaced and groaned audibly, clutching his throbbing skull.

"Sorry. Asura told me to do that when you woke up."

Of course he did.

"What time is it?" he grumbled out loud.

" _Still early. We've got training today._ " Kain answered as it started to fix the effects of the alcohol.

"Is there a reason you're whispering in my head?"

A soft moan next to him, caught his attention. He slowly twisted around to see the small naked back of a young Awoken woman. His eyes widened fearfully. He looked down at himself to see that his own clothes were missing as well.

"Kain. Did you strip me in my sleep again?" He asked, still staring at her.

" _Nope. That was her._ "

"Who the hell is her?!"

" _Katrina from yesterday._ "

He was at a complete loss for words. How the hell did this happen?

She stirred again, still sleeping. Memories from the night before came flooding back, along with a wave of guilt. "Who knows about this?" he asked cautiously.

" _Asura did try to stop you. You're largely unreasonable when you're intoxicated._ "

Katrina stirred again. Aro had almost forgotten she was there. She slowly picked herself up, stretching in the bed. She looked around, obviously not recognizing where she was until she looked at him. She smiled sleepily, "Morning." before crawling out of bed, as naked as he was, and searched the ground for her clothes.

"Uh?" Was all he could manage. He was at a complete loss for words.

She looked back at him, "What? Round 2?"

"Um no." he answered, shaking his head quickly, "What...what happened last night?"

"You seriously don't remember?" She laughed, "You're as bad as Shino. But I guess so am I." She started to get dressed. "Anyway, you apparently thought you could drink me under the table, and I ever say no to a challenge. Next thing I remember, we're here. Is something wrong?"

He put his face in his hands. He may have taken Kain's words too far. "No, I just didn't plan on this to happen."

Katrina gave him an unbelieving look. "There's something else."

Aro didn't answer.

"Ah…someone else. Someone I know?"

He let out a long exhale, "His name is Daniel..."

"Suros?" He was surprised she knew his last name, "I didn't know you two were together."

"We're not. Not exactly. Everyone says we might as well be."

"Jacket, jacket…" she whispered to herself, looking around for it, "Then why aren't you?"

"I've been meaning to, it's just that…there's just a lot of stuff going on." He paused.

"Ha! That's an understatement!"

"And I don't want to start something that I might not be able maintain or...be around to enjoy."

She found her uniform jacket, "That's it?" she asked incredulously, dusting it off.

"Isn't that enough?" he asked, pulling on a pair of pants and sitting on the bed. She sat down next to him. Both were quiet for a few seconds until she asked, "What you're dealing with. Is it a life and death matter?"

"Its classified but sort of."

"Well if you were to die without ever getting the chance to be with him, do you think you would regret it?"

"Of course I would." He answered softly.

"Well that's the road you're heading down. We're Guardians. There is no safe time for us. A simple patrol mission can end in disaster. Remember how they had to evacuate the Skywatch because of the Hive and Fallen clashing. Some Rank 1's barely made it out. One I was talking to said the last thing he saw before being pulled to orbit was a Hive Knight's blade coming down on him."

Aro's eyes widened slightly. She laughed slightly,"He had just gotten married too. Just married and at such a young age, he would have left behind an infant daughter. But he told me that at least he'd gotten to meet his daughter. That would be enough for him."

When Aro didn't respond, she stood, "Now that may not be enough for you but he told me he had almost not gone through with the wedding, knowing what was out there. He decided to go through and now he uses the motivation to get stronger, so he can make sure he always comes back. You're life is here as much as it is out there. Don't die regretting something so silly, kid. Because I promise, it'll haunt you in this world and the next."

He just looked at her and started smiling.

"What?"

"Sorry. Not used to being lectured so profoundly by a Hunter."

She feigned outrage, "If you're gonna be a jerk, then Daniel can do better."

He started laughing. "...thank you. Really."

She smiled and waved, "I'll see you around Arochukwu."

"...I don't remember telling you my full name."

She stopped the door closing behind her, "I read your tags when I ripped your shirt off." She burst out laughing at the look on his face and closed the door to his room. Soon the apartment door opened and closed as well.

He found his shirt on the ground. Or at least the pieces. His Ghost appeared and flew around it. "Didn't realize she was being so literal. Kain can you…?"

His Ghost just sighed.

* * *

"Sorry. Am I late?" Aro quickly walked into one of the private training rooms. His team was sitting on the matted floor, Crona looking annoyed and Asura simply sharpening his knife. Neither answered.

"Sorry." Aro said again sheepishly "But I came, didn't I?"

Asura snickered.

"I-I mean showed up."

"No take backs." Asura stood up, twirling his knife, "After watching Mira wreck the Crucible, I've been pretty excited for this. Especially the Arc Saber ability. Plus I've still got to pay Wrath back for putting his hands on me. So why don't we get started?"

"Alright. But don't push it." Crona warned, standing as well, "We don't need a visit from-"

"He's not gonna show, Crona." Asura interrupted, "He's been quiet for a long time. The loudest he gets is some gibberish muttering."

Crona didn't believe him. Aro simply looked concerned.

"I'm fine guys. Really."


	6. The Buried City

_The Buried City_

* * *

 _*a month later*_

" _99…100!_ " Aro released the bar he was hanging from and fell several feet flat onto his back.

Crona peeked over him, smirking, "Look who finally caught up." Her tone carrying an extra hint of condescension.

"Go…to hell." Aro's bare chest heaved, still on his back. Crona opened her mouth to respond but a knock on the door silenced her. Asura poked his head through, "Guys, Daniel, Kayla and Erek are about to leave for Mars."

"What?" Crona asked, "They weren't supposed to leave for another few days." Aro remained on his back. His arms were water right now.

"Enemy activity has increased in the area. They may not get a better chance than now. They're in the Hangar if you want to see them off. Besides, we got our own missions too." he explained before leaving. After a few seconds, Aro levitated off his back and to his feet. Arms still sore, he started to follow Crona out the gym until she stopped him, shoving a towel in his face. "You're not going anywhere with me until you fix the smell."

Aro sighed, "Kain? Can you handle it?"

"I can mask it but you should probably take a bath soon."

Aro wiped his entire upper body down with a towel before putting on a shirt, another workout. By the time he did, Kain had finished working. But just to be sure, Crona leaned in and took a cautious sniff. "It'll do." She walked on and Aro followed, glaring at the back of her head.

Asura was already back at the Hangar, conversing with Kayla and Erek while Daniel talked to Ikora. Kayla waved them over.

"You guys never mentioned you'd be leaving ahead of schedule." Crona said.

"It was a bit last minute for us too." Erek replied, a bit sheepishly.

"The machine is ready?" Aro asked, placing the towel over his shoulder.

"Can't be sure until we hook it up." Kayla answered. She was holding the finished amplifier until her Ghost sent it to her ship, along with a few other pieces of equipment.

"Guys we better head out now." Daniel said, coming up behind them. Ikora had already left.

"This is goodbye then." Erek said before all three disappeared.

They stuck around to watch the ships take off before Crona said, "We better get ready for our own jobs."

* * *

 _(_ _All_ _: Auto Rifle, Solar Shotgun, Solar Rocket Launcher.)_

The three ships exited warp space, rapidly slowing down as they broke the Martian atmosphere and descended towards the desert ground. The three dropped from their ships and were greeted by the sight massive sand dunes and even bigger Cabal war bases. Dust clouds flew across the sky in place of the usual rain clouds on Earth and long dead trees dotted the landscape.

"Ugh. Everything's so red. I'm gonna get a headache just being here m" Erek groaned.

"15 seconds. Already complaining. A new record." Daniel grumbled.

"Congrats. Now let's find a terminal to the Martian grid." Kayla said, "I don't plan on walking."

"There's one nearby in that suspiciously empty Cabal base." Her Ghost said.

"Then let's go." She started off across the sand and Daniel followed. Erek let out another long exaggerated groan before joining them.

The sand soon turned to black metal as they came across the base. Kayla led them to a door and released Sixx.

The Ghost began working on the door, "They're inside. Not near the door but be ready to fight our way out." The door opened and with guns raised, the trio entered. There was just enough lighting to move around but otherwise, the place was dark and ominous. Kayla led them through the base until they came across a panel. "This is it." Sixx said, "Let us out."

Sixx, Caesar and Eren simultaneously started to connect to the orbital grid. After a few seconds, Caesar spoke up, "Uhh one of us just tripped some kind of failsafe."

"What's the failsafe?" Daniel asked, looking around.

A klaxon horn suddenly started screaming, catching their attention. Erek peeked around the panel, "Umm, found the failsafe."

"What?" Daniel came out from behind the panel. He suddenly ducked as a large missile flew past his head and exploded behind them. Behind the opening doors was a Cabal Harvester ship dropping off its soldiers. Just as described, the Cabal were all well over 6 feet tall, weighing from 800lbs to half a ton and covered in hard bulky armor. The ones equipped with just their Slug rifles were Legionaries. The Phalanxes were Cabal soldiers equipped with large and extremely durable shields along with their Slug Rifles. Several Legionaries used their jetpacks to propel themselves into base. Several Phalanxes moved to the front and slammed the bottom of their shields onto the ground, forming a near impenetrable defensive line.

"Sparrows are ready but we'll need to break through!" Kayla warned.

"We can't let them know where we're going. They all need to go down!" Daniel ordered, "Erek behind me and be ready! Kayla! We need to break that line."

"Fair warning, they have a Centurion here with them." Caesar chirped.

"It goes down too." Daniel ran towards the Phalanx line with Kayla; Erek keeping close behind. Daniel suddenly leapt into the air, burst into lightning and slammed back onto the ground again. At the same time, Kayla generated the Nova Bomb in her right hand and spiked it directly at the Cabal. The twin explosions reduced the Phalanx defensive line as well as the few Legionaries behind it into nothing and threw a large plume of sand into the air.

Erek suddenly leapt from the dust cloud, a flaming pistol aimed at his enemies. Each shot of the Golden Gun took down a Cabal. The third shot went as far as to penetrate a Legionary and kill the Cabal behind it as well.

Erek was so focused on the enemies directly in front of him, he didn't see the Phalanx charging from his side until it was too late. The Cabal drew back its massive arm and struck Erek with its shield, sending him hurtling into the opposite wall. He could hear his ribs snap. Three of them, most likely.

Kayla and Daniel emerged from the cloud, guns blazing. The Cabal could not breathe in the Martian atmosphere, so simply knocking off their helmets was enough to take them down. Seeing Erek struggling to stand in the corner and a Legionary advancing on him, Kayla quickly switched to her Shotgun, ran and jumped into the air. As soon as she got close, she aimed the weapon at the Cabal's head and fired. The blast dealt damage but not enough to destroy its helmet. The Legionary reeled from the attack, giving Erek enough time to stick his knife under its helmet and slice through the restraints. Its helmet popped off and black slime flew from its armor. The Cabal dropped to its knees and fell dead.

"You alright?" Kayla asked, offering a hand. Erek took it, "Eren just finished fixing a few broken ribs so I'm fine. Where's that Centurion?"

"I'm dealing with him now!" Daniel yelled. They immediately made for the Titan's position, shooting their way through. Daniel's Shotgun was already empty and he didn't have time to reload. Kayla threw a grenade in their direction that split into two smaller bolts and started to track its two nearest targets, the solar shielded Centurion being one of them. Seeing the grenade, the Centurion left Daniel in an attempt to avoid the attack. He took the time to quickly reload and went after it with Kayla right behind him, Shotguns ready.

Letting his teammates handle the Centurion, Erek set his sights on the remaining Cabal. He took down two more Legionaries and a Phalanx before noticing something coming fast out of the corner of his eyes. Another Phalanx. Or maybe the same one. For giant beasts, they knew how to sneak up on someone.

The giant drew back its shield and threw it forward, putting its entire weight into the smash. But it hit nothing but air. Erek had Blinked upward just in time to avoid the attack and position himself over its head.

" _I won't fall for that again_!" Erek fired his Shotgun, turning the Cabal's hard helmet and soft head into a slimy mess.

He dropped to the ground and looked around, "I'm done here."

"So are we." Daniel said, "Get on your Sparrows and follow me before more arrive." The Titan's Sparrow appeared before him and in no time, he was off. His team right behind him. The three raced away from the base and into what looked like a partially collapsed tunnel. After a short ride through the tunnel, Daniel stopped them. "Caesar's picking up Cabal transmissions…Building Five!"

More Legionaries were out front but all three were quickly dispatched. Inside were two Phalanxes and two more Legionaries behind them. Taking cover from fire behind the pillars, Daniel threw a Flashbang in their general direction. They waited until they heard the explosion before moving in. One of the Phalanxes had been killed while the other disoriented. Kayla quickly moved behind it and filled its back with bullets. Erek quickly shot off the helmet of a Legionary and threw his knife at another, killing both.

With no time to rest, the three continued up a flight of stairs into a small hallway. Erek went through the entrance and quickly jumped back as a large missile flew towards him and exploded against the wall.

"Getting a bit tired of these things sneaking up on me." He growled. Another missile came there way as they took cover on the sides of the wall. He switched to his Rocket Launcher and sent a missile straight back. The rocket flew down the hall and smashed against the Cabal in the back of the room.

"The transmission is strongest in there! Clear them out!" Caesar said. Daniel fired his Auto Rifle to mow down any Cabal that managed to survive the blast. Quickly moving through the hallway, they were greeted by a room filled with whirring machinery and open windows. Across from the entrance was some kind of communication monitor. And in their way was another Centurion. It smashed its fist against its chest in challenge and Daniel responded with a Shotgun blast. The Cabal Centurion used its jet back to dart to the side and fired its Projection Rifle, sending another missile there way and forcing the team to split off.

Kayla released a Fusion grenade, aiming well enough for it to land on the Cabal. She willed it to explode immediately, disorienting the creature and more importantly, dropping its shield. Daniel threw his gun backwards, allowing it to magnetically attach to his back and his body erupted into lightning once again. But instead of slamming himself onto the ground, he charged forward, his normal speed boosted exponentially by the Arc Cloak that shrouded him. He delivered a punch to the still reeling Cabal, hard enough to dent its armor. He delivered another and another and another in rapid succession, each strike caving in it's chest piece and pushing it towards the open window. Daniel delivered a final strike, this time channeling the Arc energy that covered him into the punch and letting it discharge into the Centurion's body. The powerful transfer of energy combined with the punch sent the Cabal flying several feet out the window before plummeting to the ground. Whether it was dead by the time it hit the ground or not, he didn't know or care.

Kayla had already let Sixx start tapping to the Cabal feed.

"Looks like the Cabal have a recon team stationed at the top of the skyscraper across from us, Clovis Bray. That means they found something interesting." Sixx announced.

"Rasputin?" Erek asked.

"Most likely."

"Then that's where we need to plug this in." Kayla said. Daniel moved towards the window facing the skyscraper and observed it. "How far up?" He asked.

"Near the top."

"Then let's move." and with that, Daniel jumped from the 3rd story window. Kayla and Erek soon followed.

* * *

"Alright, listen up guys." Aro commanded as the trio of ships hurtled towards the Cosmodome, "We were all briefed on our missions but let's run through them again."

Asura groaned loudly.

Choosing to ignore him, Aro continued, "Crona, your target is a House of Kings Captain in the Terrestrial Complex. As usual, they're fighting the Hive but this Captain has been spending his spare time causing trouble for Guardians."

"Sounds easy enough." she responded.

"Asura, you have to head to the Refinery to-" Asura groaned again, interrupting Aro. "You should have known we'd be making another visit there sometime soon Asura." Aro said, "There's a Hive Wizard there that helps in organizing the Hive attacking the Fallen in the Rocketyard. That's your problem."

"Wait. I don't remember Cayde telling us who your target was." Crona noticed.

"He gave me a target. It's just that we have little to no information on him besides a name, House and location. Karrhis, House of Devils, located in the Breach outside the Divide. A high ranking member of the Devils but no idea what occupation." The ships began to descend and split off. "Alright. We meet back once we're done."

Aro dropped from his ship into the Divide and Asura appeared to his right. They watched Crona's ship fly towards the Forgotten Shore to let her go. As usual, Fallen Devils littered the area. Most patrolling the ground but some atop buildings. Asura summoned his Sparrow and hopped on. With a quick wave to Aro, he took off for the Refinery. Aro started moving towards the Breach entrance.

"This place looks familiar…" Aro observed as he crossed into the dark tunnel.

"It should. We crossed this way I first found you."

Not much has changed in the year and a half since Aro first crossed through. A massive fan steel man to his right spun lazily. He turned left into the dark and quietly sloshed through the ankle high river running through the Breach. Near another fan deeper inside, there was a large hole, emanating. He could hear footsteps and whirring inside.

" _Fallen."_ His Ghost warned _, "This is the place."_

He placed his back against the wall as close to the hole as possible, listening for the position of the closest one. " _One right next to the stairs._ " Kain warned. Without a second thought, Aro moved in front of the entrance, aimed his Hand Cannon and shot the Fallen Shank that had gotten too close down. A Vandal heard him before the gun, screeching commands to its team. Several began shooting back as Aro ducked for cover under the stairs leading to the Breach entrance. After a few seconds of being shot at, he leapt high into the air and dropped a Scatter grenade into the middle of the largest gathering. The small square shaped dropped onto the ground and multiplied into many parts, each one delivering a small explosion. Any Fallen that did not jump out of the way in time was decimated.

The Warlock landed on the ground, using his Energy Drain ability to disintegrate a Shank and immediately shooting the Dreg coming up behind it. He fired the gun four more times, the Fallen either ducking or jumping out of his line of fire. He clicked again. Empty.

"I forgot, this thing only holds 6 shots."

If there was one thing the Fallen were good at, it was knowing when an enemy had to reload. A Vandal equipped with dual Shock Blades started running for his position. Aro prepared to switch to his Arc Shotgun until the Vandal suddenly froze. All of the Fallen did.

"Aro. Something's coming. Something big." Kain warned.

He felt it. Something was stomping around. Inside the walls.

The bladed Vandal cautiously moved back. Only then did Aro notice the large hole in the back wall.

And the massive claw reach out of it.

"That's him. Karrhis. In the walls." Kain said.

"That sounds familiar."

A second and third claw grasped the walls and a giant Fallen dragged himself out of it. He looked exactly like…

"Kain, I thought we killed the Archon?!" he asked more than stated, quickly reloading the Hand Cannon.

"Must be the original's replacement. Wouldn't be surprised if they found a new Prime Servitor too."

Karrhis roared. His Fallen comrades responded in kind, beginning to move in on him.

"Prime and the Devil Archon. So all that work for was for nothing?"

"Yeah pretty much."

Aro groaned loudly before jumping back to avoid an attack from the Archon.

"Well let's get this over with." Aro broke into a hard sprint and threw himself into the air, hurtling straight towards the monster.


	7. The Dark Beyond

_The Dark Beyond_

* * *

"Hey Aro, we're waiting on alive?" Asura asked. He and Crona had already returned to orbit.

"Yeah I'm done here." Aro responded, still in the Breach. He had planted himself in the large hole in the wall with one leg lazily dangling over the edge. The Archon, along with its merry band of Fallen, lay dead at his feet.

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"Calm down, I'm coming." He dropped to his feet, stretching and yawning before walking over to the Archon. Under its crimson cloak, he noticed a small sphere. As he got closer, it started to glow a bright green. He picked it up for a closer look.

"An engram. Haven't found one of these in a while. Kain, can you tell what type?"

"Seems like weapon engram. Primary."

"Could be something good. Or completely useless."

"No such thing as a useless engram." Kain said. The engram disappeared as Kain sent it back to the ship. Aro ripped off the Archon's House Banner and looked around the other corpses for anything useful that might have dropped. Finding nothing else, he said, "Alright, let's head out."

Not even a second later was he inside his ship. He could drop into his seat and set their course but before he could finish, Kain alerted, "I'm receiving an emergency transmission from the Tower."

"I'm receiving one too." Sol added.

"So am I." Spirit said.

Ikora Rey's voice came through, more urgent than they've ever heard before. "Set a course for the Moon, you three. Archer's Line, Ocean of Storms."

"The Moon? Already?" Asura asked as they all began inputting the coordinates. The computers took a few seconds to reroute away from its original destination of the City. The ships' engines fired up, pushing the ships away from Earth. Once a certain distance had been reached, the warp drives activated, pushing the ships even faster. The scenery outside went from a starry black to a formless blue tunnel as they hurtled towards Earth's Moon.

"Now that you're on your way, listen up Guardians." Ikora commanded. "Approximately 6 hours ago, Rasputin detected unusual activity coming from one of the many Hive temples on the Moon. We sent a team to check it out but we lost communications with them almost 15 minutes ago, with the last transmission being a high ranking distress signal. There were already several Guardians, mostly Hunters, scouting the area that they disappeared in but none have seen them."

"Who was the team that went missing?" Crona asked.

"The team that went missing was Team Katrina."

"Wait what?" Aro exclaimed. The usually warm ship suddenly became very cold.

Her tone became solemn, "We are hoping for the best but expecting the worst. If by some miracle they are alive, get them out." She paused and then said, "But if not, find out what happened. So we can give their families and friends peace of mind."

Anger replaced her sadness, "And, if possible, end the wretched existence of whatever monster took them from us. Your Ghosts have the full details of their mission and now yours. Good luck Guardians."

The three ships broke out of hyperspace, Earth's Moon entering into full view. It was just like it looked from Earth on a clear night. The only extremely noticeable feature on the silver sphere, was the massive scar along its north western sector. Almost as if someone took a knife and roughly carved into the rock. It was honestly a hypnotizing sight.

Aro paid it no mind.

"Kain this was supposed to be a routine patrol mission. What the fuck could have possibly gone so wrong?!"

"With the Hive, there are an infinite number of things that could go wrong."

"Damn it." He whispered out loud. Nothing was making sense. "I have another question." he started.

"Yes?"

"Did Rasputin specifically request us?"

Kain was silent for a while before saying, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? If they did, Ikora should have put that into the report."

"Well she didn't. So I guess the answer is no. Get ready. I'm dropping us off."

The three ships dropped to the ground and released its occupants before shooting back into orbit. They landed in what appeared to be the bottom of a large hill that led up into an even larger crater. To their left, Earth could be seen in its entirety.

"Hey! You can see Mars from here." Asura said. Aro turned around to see him looking through his Sniper scope at what appeared to be a red star. Again, Aro paid it no mind.

"Let's go." He commanded, placing his Hand Cannon at the base of his back and started trudging up the hill. Crona silently followed and after another second, Asura did as well.

Once at the top of the hill, they paused to look around. Multiple wrecked bases littered the surface but by far the most attention catching sight was the massive accelerator that stretched across the entirety of the Archer's line. At the far left end appeared to another lab. They began moving towards it.

"Team Katrina's last report said captured they this old accelerator from a Fallen House." Sol said.

"The House of Exiles?" Crona assumed.

"Well they're the only ones stupid enough to try and attack the Hive where they're strongest."

"What do we have on the House of Exiles?" Aro asked, a bit impatiently. They needed to get a move on.

"A minor house. Built up of the nastiest outcasts and traitors of the other inner system Fallen Houses."

"The Devils, Kings and Winters?"

"Right." Sol affirmed. "They have no Kell, Archon or Prime Servitor. And they are incredibly desperate to prove themselves a true House without them."

"Good to know." Asura said dryly. They cautiously walked into the accelerator base, guns up. There were few lights on and none of them made the area any less dark.

"Some of this equipment shows recent activity. Had to be the Guardian's Ghost. Let us out." They opened their palms and let the Ghosts float out. They began working on the computer caused it to start lighting up. Asura ran to the entrance, "The accelerator is turning on."

"It's fine. I had to trip the start mechanism. Alright, they were looking for the remains of an old colony base. Not too far. I can track them better from-" Sol paused and then it's voice became urgent, "Fallen Exiles. We're being hunted!"

"Sol, wrap it up and Crona stay close by." Aro ordered, "Asura, take the left entrance." Aro grabbed his Hand Cannon from where he placed it and moved towards the right entrance, taking cover behind the wall. A familiar Fallen Skiff floated over and the familiar Fallen dropped from its base. Instead of the usual red armor of the Devils, the Exiles were covered in a bright green. There was something feral about them. Much more than usual at least.

Aro shot down a Shank, grabbing their attention. The Exiles began advancing on the Guardians. "We're gonna need to clear them out. They're sending two more Skiffs down so be ready." Kain said to all of them.

"Crona, is Sol done?" Aro asked, force pushing a Dreg away. A glowing sphere flew from behind them and exploded, killing multiple Fallen and disorienting whoever wasn't at the center of the blast.

As Kain predicted, two more Skiffs dropped from the dark sky, releasing its soldiers, which included several Servitors and Captains.

Aro's head wasn't in the battle. He couldn't stop thinking about Katrina and her team. What the fuck could have happened?!

A Dreg swiped at him with its knife, earning several shots to the head. The Fallen forces were dwindling fast.

Guardians don't just disappear off the grid. Did the Fallen have something to do with it? The Hive?

A sword bearing Captain jumped at him, breaking him out of his storm of thoughts. He jumped back quickly to avoid what would have been a devastating blow. His back hit a wall and the Captain struck again. It's blades ran across his chest, rending the armor and probably opening the skin underneath.

Reacting purely in pain and fury, Aro aimed and shot at the Captain's knee, forcing its head down to waist level. He kneed the monster in the face, knocking it to its back and shattering his kneecap in the process. In his rage, he felt nothing. He unloaded his clip in the Captain's head. It was dead by the first bullet but that didn't stop him from emptying the clip. Nor did it stop him from crushing it's throat under the boot of his uninjured leg.

Breathing hard, he fell against the wall to take weight off the leg while Kain repaired it. A hand dropped gently onto his shoulder. He turned to see Asura looking at him, head cocked in concern. Neither said anything before Aro shook him off and started walking out from under the accelerator and into open space. His walk was interrupted by a red dot on his radar, moving closer. A lone Dreg popped from behind a wall and raised its knife to cut at Aro's throat.

He knocked the Dreg backwards, dazed but still on its feet. The Dreg looked up to see Aro place his open palm a few inches from its face. Both paused, the Fallen frozen in place.

A glowing orb manifested into Aro's open palm and released, point blank into the Fallen's face. The attack annihilated the Fallen, much too quickly for it to feel the pain. The blast from the attack created a yet another large smoking crater on the Moon's surface, marking where the Dreg last stood.

The others said nothing, obviously unsettled by the Warlock's sudden brutality.

Aro stared down for a few more seconds, his anger never seeming to wear off before he demanded, "Kain, is my Sparrow ready?"

His answer appeared right in front of him. He got on and without further hesitation or a look back, took off. Crona and Asura took a short worried look at each other and soon followed behind.


	8. The Buried City Part II

_The Buried City Part II: Clovis Bray_

* * *

Kayla and Daniel dove through the open doorway, taking cover from the Cabal fire behind the wall. Erek ran through behind them. He turned around, yelped and ducked suddenly, a missile just barely hitting his head. Daniel grabbed him and threw him behind the wall with them. None of the Cabal followed them surprisingly. After a pause to catch their breath, they left the lower auditorium and started to climb the stairs to the Overwatch.

"What the hell were you looking back for? You know what's back there!" Daniel questioned.

"Calm the hell down. I just wanted to see if we were being followed. And now I'm wondering why we aren't…"

"Kayla. Do you feel anything ahead?" Daniel asked her.

She stopped, letting herself focus and then answered, "Just the Cabal. Not a lot." They continued up the stairs.

The team hid against the wall once they reached the Overwatch. Kayla was right, there wasn't a lot of Cabal. That was probably because plenty were already dead.

"How much farther Caesar?"

"Up the stairs to the top of the Overwatch."

"Then let's keep mov-" Daniel paused mid-sentence and then asked, "Caesar is my helmet damaged?"

"No I don't see anything in need of repairs."

"Why are the sensors fogging up?"

"Son of a… That's why I couldn't sense anything else. Daniel, you need to move back!" Kayla said.

Guns were up immediately, "Kayla who is it?"

"The Vex. They're here."

The fog cloud got thicker and suddenly started to drop. Mechanical whirring could be heard emanating from it as well as hard clank of metal hitting the ground. The cloud dropped further and glowing red lights could be seen. And they were all pointed in the direction of the Guardians. A loud metallic roar rang through the Overwatch and a massive Vex Minotaur, shielded in a Void force field, came charging out of the cloud towards the Guardians

"Shoot it! Shoot it down!" Daniel yelled but no one needed to be told. The Minotar would constantly disappear and reappear, moving closer and dodging most of the bullets. The Minotaur's shield stopped whatever bullets it didn't avoid. Erek suddenly ran in close, Shotgun in hand, and fired point blank at its head.

The machine staggered backwards, electricity flying around its body. Erek stood still, waiting for the Vex to fall onto its back. It never did. The Minotaur quickly corrected itself and this time began to sprint forward, unconcerned with its decapitation. It fired its Torch Hammer multiple times in rapid succession. Explosive purple bolts smashed against the ground around Erek, who desperately tried to move away. Kayla and Daniel were occupied with the others. The team was caught between the advancing Vex and the panicking, unprepared Cabal.

Erek fired off the Shotgun again and at the same time, the Minotaur let out another attack. The panicked recoil, combined with the Void blast knocked Erek backwards off the top floor. He landed hard on the floor and dropped to his knee. He looked up after gathering himself. "More Vex down here. Cabal as well." He told the others. Right on cue, a Legionary came running at him, arm raised to crush its target. Erek's Shotgun immediately came up and fired. His attacker's helmet blew off, it's head a bloody mess. Daniel suddenly landed hard on the ground next to him, shooting down a Vex Goblin. "We need to keep moving Erek. Kayla's waiting for us."

"We're not gonna clear them out?"

"Let them fight. Just like the Skywatch." He responded before moving ahead.

"Yeah." Erek said, dispirited. "Just like the Skywatch."

Both men ran up the stairs and used their abilities to cross a chasm in where the stairway had been destroyed. They kept moving upward into a large hallway with windows that faced the desert. Kayla was there waiting for them.

"Kayla, how's it looking?"

She didn't get a chance to respond. A group of large missiles crashed against windows, shattering nearly all of them.

"You tell me." She finally answered. Daniel could barely hear her with the ringing in his ears. He peeked behind the door to see multiple Legionnaires and Phalanxes. All being led by a Colossus. Bigger than the other Cabal and twice as heavily armored. They always lugged around massive Gatling guns, which it proceeded to spray in their direction.

"So how are we getting past?" Erek asked.

"Kayla and I will draw its fire. You'll turn invisible and rip off its helmet."

"I'm not getting close to that thing. I apologize for asking."

"Great. Erek's on board. Hit them hard so they don't start looking anywhere else, Kayla."

Both Kayla and Daniel started to running towards the platoon of Cabal. Daniel switched to his Rocket Launcher, aimed and fired.

The missile hit the Colossus dead on. The explosion knocked down several of the weaker Cabal but seemed to do nothing the Colossus. The beast responded with an enraged roar and several of its own.

"The missiles track. I doubt we could dodge them."

Daniel quickly concentrated as much Light as he could inside of him and expelled it outward, much faster than he could a rank ago. His Light took on the form of a violet sphere, surrounding him and Kayla, just a second before the missiles hit their targets. The missiles were immediately followed by a hail of bullets and rockets. The Ward of Dawn stopped all attacks, as long as no one came running in.

The onslaught continued for a little longer before stopping suddenly. The Gatling fell from the Colossus' hands as it reached for its throat. Erek could be seen behind it, blade drawn and crackling with electricity.

Taking advantage of the Cabal's confusion, Daniel and Kayla left the shield, attacking the backs of the Cabal after Erek had captured their attention.

"Daniel, I'm picking up movement. Vex and Cabal on their way here."

"Together?"

"I can't tell."

Inside the computer room, Erek had taken down half the enemy forces before his Arc Blade wore off. The rest were just as dead.

"Kayla, get to work." Daniel commanded after they cleared the room. "Erek, take a side of the door. Nothing gets through."

"Actually…" Kayla spoke up, "We don't have to worry about them. Both groups are retreating."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. But this all does seem familiar."

"Hurry then. I'd rather not be here if they decide to come back."

Erek plopped down while Sixx and Kayla worked. Daniel simply leaned against the wall.

"This was easier than I'd thought it'd be." Eren said.

Erek burst out laughing, "Right?! I came here thinking the Cabal or at least Vex would be a challenge! I'm honestly disappointed."

"Plenty of stronger enemies out there." Kayla reminded him, still hooking in the amplifier.

"And I can't wait to meet them. Especially after I get Arc Saber down."

Their light conversation continued on, spanning multiple random topics. Anything to pass the time until Kayla and Sixx had finished.

A small period a silence passed through until Sixx said, "Kayla, do you feel that?"

She looked up at her Ghost and suddenly turned around, a tense air about her, "I feel it."

"Kayla, what is it?"

"Someone's coming."

Erek stood and faced the entrance. Daniel raised his gun. They could both hear it now.

Footsteps.

They were slow and deliberate. But they were definitely getting louder. Not the hard stomping of the Cabal nor was there any whirring of Vex machinery. Who the hell was it?

A form came out of the shadows and just stood there. The figure humanoid, broad shouldered and well built, garbed in all black with a strip of dark crimson running across his chest. A hood obscured his helmet and a thin cape quietly trailed behind him. A Hunter?

"Erek, do you recognize him?" Daniel whispered.

"I have a a few ideas but I'm not sure. Eren, set my radio on public." Erek cautiously lowered his gun and raised a hand, "Hey can you hear me?" He asked the Guardian.

The Hunter didn't even twitch.

"Hello? Are you sure it's on Eren?" Erek tried again.

"It's definitely on."

Kayla slowly stood, "Even if it wasn't, this isn't the Moon. He can hear you."

Ever suspicious, Daniel raised his gun, "State your name and business here."

Still no response.

"I'll ask one more time. What are you here for?"

This time, the Hunter responded. A small laugh could be heard in all their comms. It came from none of them.

The Hunter took out his knife and raised it towards his face.

All three Guardians tensed.

He finally spoke, "That's easy." He said in a deep voice, "I'm here for you."

A blue ray of light shot from the tip of the blade, the point almost reaching the Hunter's feet. His entire body was crackling with electricity.

He stood still just a second longer and without warning or even preparation, broke into a hard sprint towards the Guardians.

* * *

 _I'll admit, not my best work._

 _Comments are always welcome._


	9. The Dark Beyond Part II

_The Dark Beyond Part II: The Temple of Crota_

* * *

"That's the base. Dismount here."

A trip that would have taken an hour to traverse took seconds. The Anchor of Light was a small valley dividing large mountain ranges. Even bigger ones could be seen in the distance. The place was littered with Fallen Exiles. The Guardians caught their attention but none dared get too close.

The area had 2 large colony bases to its far right and far left, both built into the mountain. The third was right in the center of the valley.

"There's an entrance on the left side." Kain said.

Using the collapsed entrance tunnel to climb up the base, Aro quickly took down two Dregs before they could be spotted. He quickly released Kain, knowing that the sounds of the gun would draw the Fallen to investigate.

Kain scanned the machinery, searching for any trace of Team Katrina.

Asura took a seat on one of the metal crates and asked quietly, "What do you think could have happened?"

"We'll find out when we get there." Aro said, dismissively.

"No speculations? At all?" Crona added in.

"I didn't even know that they left!" He said, "We haven't talked in a while."

"You've got to keep up with other Guardians, Aro. Not just us. Not just Erek, Kayla and Daniel. Not just Mira, May and Shino but a lot of others." Crona advised, "I've been talking about it with fath…I mean the Commander."

Aro looked at her, taking in her words. "What have you been discussing with your father?"

She took a second before responding, "Sooner or later, people are going to find out about the Heralds and the Gate. They're going to find out that that the Darkness plans to use you to come here and finish what it started. How do you think people are going to react?"

He never thought about it. When he didn't answer, she did for him, "They won't trust you. They might even try to kill you."

"Knowing good and well that they can't?" Aro asked acidly. The frustration that he had managed to keep under wraps was leaking into his voice.

"Fear makes people stupid, Aro and even worse, it makes people desperate. If they think eliminating you will stop or at least slow down the Darkness, they'll do it."

He opened his mouth to respond but a red blip on his radar stopped him. The radar was filled with red.

"We're surrounded by Fallen. Kain-"

"I'm done." The Ghost said, returning to its Guardian, "The Temple of Crota is where the trail goes cold. I don't even think they made it in."

The name sent chills down Aro's spine. He had read up on Crota and even talked to the very few survivors of the Great Disaster. Everything the books described him as was an understatement compared to what the Guardians who faced him said. This was the creature responsible for the deaths of six incredibly powerful Guardians and subsequently, the creation of one of the Heralds.

Asura peeked out one of the open doorways, "They've got a Captain with them. And a Servitor."

"I'll take the Captain." Aro ordered, "Asura, take care of the Servitor. Crona, clear the way."

Asura peaked out again and stepped back, "Crona, I'm gonna need a boost to reach the Servitor from here."

"Let's get on the roof." Crona jumped up to the edge of the roof and lifted herself up, pulling the others up with her. The base was high enough to see over the smaller mountains. The Fallen really were surrounding them.

Asura moved back and Crona moved towards the edge, taking a knee with her open palms out. "Asura, I'm ready." He broke into a hard run and dropped a foot into Crona's palm. Without breaking his momentum, she boosted him as high into the air as possible. The Fallen took their movement as their cue to start attacking. Asura dropped towards the elevated platform where the Servitor and a few other Fallen were stationed. He hit the platform, rolling to stop himself.

Aro and Crona jumped off the roof, Aro running directly for the Captain while Crona eliminated the Fallen in their way. The way to the temple was behind a small break between the rocky hills that the far right base was built into.

Both the Captain and the Servitor were easily taken down. Aro ran to the the crevice between the hills with Asura and a group of Dregs and Vandals on their tails. Crona was already there waiting. The Fallen paused at the edge, giving the Guardians one last look before quickly falling back. There was no trace of them just a few seconds later. No one bothered commenting. They knew why.

"Hey, there's someone over there!" Kain whispered through the comms. Aro quickly clambered up the elevated ledge and ran towards a small figure leaning against the rock wall. A Hunter judging by the cloak.

He grabbed the person's hand and shoulder and shook them softly, "Hey, are you ok?"

For a second, there was no response. Then the Hunter stirred and looked up, "Who are you?"

Aro recognized the voice immediately, "Katrina? Katrina, it's me, Aro."

Relief permeated her voice, causing it to break slightly, "Aro? Of all people…"

"What happened?" he asked.

"We were scouting this area for information and a way into the temple. We were attacked."

"Where's Sora and Jessie?"

Her voice broke even more, "We were ambushed by the Hive. They killed Sora. I don't know about Jessie but my leg is broken. I can't reach them. They took my Ghost." She was almost sobbing at this point, "I couldn't leave this area without our connections severing. But I can't reach them. I could barely get myself over here."

"We'll clear out the Hive and reach them." Aro stated, standing up and moving towards the end of the wall. Crona moved towards Katrina and began to help her stand up on her uninjured leg. Katrina almost fell over trying to reach out for Aro, "No! It's not just the Hive. There were some others. A team of Guardians. We thought they were coming to help but…"

"But what?"

"They attacked us too. The Hive completely ignored them."

"Aro." Asura said, suddenly falling against the wall, "Something doesn't feel right."

"What? What is it, Asura? We don't have time for this."

"It's not me! It's…the other me. _He_ doesn't feel right!"

Aro wasn't listening. He slowly continued towards the edge of the wall.

"No Aro please! You can't fight them!" Katrina tried to stop him again but it was too late. Crona was holding her tighter so she couldn't move as much. He peeked around the rock to take note of their enemies' positions and the best way to take them down.

What he saw sent his heart into his stomach.

Katrina was right. Sora was dead, her Ghost floating just outside the temple and her dead body several feet behind it. Jessie, however, was still alive. Judging by her struggling at least.

A hand was holding her up by her neck. A male Awoken Warlock.

And he wasn't wearing a helmet.

"Gluttony." The former Guardian, Toland, now Gluttony, had not changed since their first meeting. The same bright blue skin, snowy white hair and blood red eyes. Behind him were two other familiar faces. The massive Exo Titan, Wrath and the black haired Awoken, Lust.

"Aro? Aro, who is it?" Crona whispered through the comms.

He was silent, too afraid to even breathe. He finally opened his mouth to speak…

A smooth and charming voice rang through the mountains. Despite not hearing it for a solid year, it was a voice that the others recognized almost instantly and made their hearts go colder than the surface of the Moon.

" _We can hear you, you know._ "

* * *

 _More are always welcome but thank you to each and every person who takes the time to comment._

 _A review I couldn't reply to asked if there will be more books. I'm planning 3 more after this, so 5 in total._


	10. The Buried City Part III

_Going back to school tomorrow so please enjoy this new chapter while I cry myself to sleep :)_

* * *

 _The Buried City Part III: Sloth the Bladedancer_

* * *

The Hunter bolted forward, directly towards Kayla. Daniel and Erek moved to intercept the attack. Daniel barely made it in time, using the Force Barrier shielding him to stop the Arc Saber from reaching its target. Hunters weren't known for brute strength and yet this one almost forced Daniel to his knees.

With Daniel as the distraction, Erek ducked to the side, out of the Hunter's sight, fired full auto. The man was fast.

st. Faster than almost any Hunter Erek knew. He dropped to the ground, avoiding the first few bullets before jumping from side to side to avoid the rest.

" _Eren, I need a Hand Cannon._ " Erek commanded. The transfer would take some time and Daniel needed help. Pulling his knife out, he regrouped with Daniel to defend Kayla, who was frantically working.

"Stay here with Kayla, Erek." Daniel whispered, "You're her last line until she finishes." Without waiting for a response, Daniel ran towards the Hunter, whose Arc Saber was still active. Still using the Force Barrier, Daniel threw a hard right hook. The Hunter stepped back and quickly jumped forward again, thrusting the blade outward. Daniel used his protected arms to parry it, barely recovering before the next strike came. And the next. And the next.

" _When the hell will this thing wear off_?!" Daniel thought as he ducked to avoid decapitation. " _I don't know how much longer I can keep this up._ " He hadn't landed one good hit on the rogue Guardian and he was getting tired. The man dashed towards him again, the energy blade pointed directly at Daniel's stomach. His arms dropped down to stop the attack...but the shimmering blue blade disappeared. Daniel didn't even have time to wonder what just happened. The Hunter sank the metal part of his knife into Daniel's stomach, burying it to the hilt. The pain and shock were staggering . The knife broke his armor like it wasn't there. He dropped to his knees.

"Pretty impressive abs you got there." The Hunter said, pulling his blade out of Daniel abdomen. Whether it was meant as a joke or a serious comment, he didn't know. Nothing vital was damaged and Caesar was already set on repairs. Before Daniel could react, a gun was placed directly against his visor. He didn't even know the rogue had one. The sound of a gun firing echoed around the room and the Hunter was knocked back. Erek's next two Golden Gun shots managed to knock him down and tear smoldering holes into his body. Erek quickly helped Daniel up and drew him back towards Kayla.

The Hunter stood up slowly, knocking the Martian sand of his shoulder. His wounds were rapidly closing up with sparks of electricity accompanying his regeneration.

"Kayla?!" Daniel asked, urgency in his voice.

"I need more time!"

The Hunter suddenly Blinked upward, dropping down from right above. Erek used his own knife to stop the attack, knocking his attacker away. The Hunter landed on his feet and let out 5 quick shots in their direction. Force Barrier recharged, Daniel took the hits, covering both Erek and Kayla. From behind him, Erek threw a grenade that split into many small explosive drones. The drones began honing in on the Hunter who made no attempt to avoid them. Instead, he entered the Arc Blade state and quickly sent an electrical shock wave along the ground. Short circuited, the drones became inert and fell to the ground, dead. The Hunter used his power to extended the blade of his knife once again but instead of charging like usual, he disappeared.

"Goddamn it-" Erek was suddenly sent flying back by an extremely hard kick. The Hunter reappeared directly in front of Daniel, who brought his shielded arms up just in time to parry the blade coming towards his throat.

The Hunter looked to the side and suddenly jumped away. Barely a second later, shots rang in their direction, the Hunter moving from spot to spot to avoid Erek's attacks. Once the gun clicked empty, the Hunter ran at Erek, who stopped the incoming attack with his knife. Then parrying the next and the next and the next.

Using Erek's distraction to his advantage, Daniel switched to the Rocket Launcher, struggling to get a solid lock on his target.

" _The legs!_ " Caesar yelled, " _Go for his feet!_ "

"Erek, move!" he fired, doing as his Ghost said. Erek parried one attack from the Hunter before throwing himself to the ground. The Hunter, threw himself backward just before the rocket connected. The explosion threw him back even further. He twisted in the air to slam down on his feet.

Daniel fired again. The Hunter tucked and rolled to the side to avoid it and started running towards him. Daniel reloaded the launcher but before he could take aim again, a searing pain exploded in his chest.

He looked down to see the Hunter looking up at him, his blade shoved through Daniel's chest and exiting the back. His arms went limp and his legs soon after.

The blade suddenly retracted and the Hunter jumped away again to avoid being shot by an enraged Erek. Daniel's Ghost appeared over his limp body.

"Kayla, Daniel's down!" Sixx said.

"We can't worry about that now!"

"I can finish the rest!" her Ghost decided, "Go help them!"

She ran towards Daniel, quickly reviving him.

With little preparation, Kayla entered Radiance and extended the its abilities to her teammates, causing them to sprout fiery cloaks matching her own. All three charged for the Hunter, who started running towards the them. With their Radiance enhanced senses, the world seemed to slow down. The Hunter twisted away from a hard shoulder charge from Daniel, leapt straight over Erek and ducked under Kayla's Radiance empowered Nova Bomb, moving straight towards the Warmind terminal.

Kayla barely sent a warning to her Ghost in time. Just as Sixx disappeared from sight, the Hunter struck at the amplifier. Kayla could only watch as the small machine detached and broke into two smoldering pieces.

Kayla was stunned. Nearly a year of work…

Daniel and Erek charged him simultaneously, both crackling in angry lightning. The Guardian swiftly brought his blade up…

And the saber cut cleanly through Daniel's leg, severing it completely. Not even a second later, the blade came back up and took off Erek's right arm, severing it to the shoulder. Both men dropped to the ground, barely clinging to life as their Ghost rushed to repair the damage before they bled out.

Before Kayla could react, the Hunter Blinked towards her. In just one hand, he held her by the neck, lifting her off the ground. The grip was soft enough not to crush her machinery but firm enough to demonstrate his ability to. Kayla had her on hands on his, struggling to free herself. The Hunter showed no sign that her attempts at freedom were working.

The Hunter spoke, his voice was still deep and languid. As if he made no exertion at all, "I have my orders to let you live. I believe it to be a mistake…" he shrugged nonchalantly, "But orders are orders."

"From who?" Kayla snarled, still struggling uselessly in his grip.

"Try not to worry about it. While I believe it is a mistake, I'm actually happy to let you live." He continued, "Maybe one day, you'll give me a challenge that may be worth my full effort."

Despite himself and his pain, Erek laughed bitterly, "He wasn't even trying!"

After a few seconds of silence, Kayla dropped to the ground. The Hunter turned and began to walk away, sheathing his knife. But before he could get more than a few steps away, Kayla demanded, "Who...are you?"

He stopped and went quiet before saying, "I'm like my fellow Hunter said." He turned his head, "I was one of the Guardians born into the City, selected and claimed by my Ghost when I turned 21 years old. My original name is for you to figure out. My new name? It's Sloth. The one who doesn't try."


	11. The Dark Beyond Part III

_Quick reminder that Wrath(K) is Kabr and Wrath(A) is Asura._

* * *

 _The Dark Beyond Part III: Return of the Heralds_

* * *

"Come on out, Arochukwu. We've missed you."

Despite the others' silent protests, Aro slowly stepped past the rocks, the Temple entering full view. The doors were wide open, giving off an eerie green glow from deep inside. Worse than that was the feeling it gave him. Like the very structure was attempting to rip his Light from his body.

His eyes returned to the Heralds. Gluttony was slightly smiling, showing no signs of exertion as he held the Exo Titan in the air by just her neck. Wrath was standing near the entrance, so still that he could be mistaken for a Hive statue if one wasn't careful. Lust was right next to him, sitting on one of the rocks; face unusually expressionless. All three pairs of blood red eyes bored into Aro. Despite his armor, he had never felt more exposed. They knew more about him and his past than he himself did.

"A year since we last spoke and you have nothing to say?" Gluttony jokingly chided, "I assume the other two are here with you?"

When Aro didn't answer, Gluttony said, "I guess that's a yes. The Vanguard isn't stupid enough to let you come here on your own."

Aro finally found his voice, "How are you speaking to me? There's no atmosphere here."

"We've tapped directly into your comms. Zavala's daughter and the Hunter who had the spine to attack me should be able to hear me too."

Hoping to keep Crona and Asura out of the conversation, Aro asked, "Toland-"

" _Gluttony_." he corrected venomously.

"Sorry. Gluttony." Aro corrected cautiously, "It's me you want. Let me revive Sora, retrieve Katrina's Ghost and let them go. Please, I'm begging you."

Lust suddenly erupted in laughter before saying, "Have you heard of the castle doctrine, Aro? It's an old law that states that the owner of a property has permission to end the life of whoever trespasses."

"The Hive own this place."

"The Hive owns this place and the Darkness owns the Hive. We're just its enforcers."

Aro swallowed nervously, "Why'd you let the Katrina go then? And without her Ghost?"

"A warning." Gluttony answered, "Stay far away from this temple. I'm sure someone would have seen her and picked her up. And if not…" he shrugged, "Oh well."

His answer sent chills down Aro's spine. If they hadn't shown up when they did, the situation would be a lot worse. Aro just now noticed it. A pressure weighing down on him. A Darkness Zone. He'd need to tread carefully.

"I'm sure they've learned their lesson-"

"No." Gluttony interrupted, "Not yet."

Jessie suddenly began to thrash in Gluttony's grip as it tightened and tightened. The metal holding her head up wouldn't take the pressure.

"No! Gluttony stop!" Aro yelled as he started moving towards them, only to be stopped when Lust trained a pistol at him. Gluttony suddenly threw Jessie against a boulder. He formed the purple orb before she could even look up. A small one, probably not fully formed. He launched it directly at her.

The explosion was devastating. The four could only watch, frozen in horror. Jessie's body was gone. Broken down into near nothingness. Her Ghost, luckily, was still alive. Hovering over where she was just murdered.

"JESSIE!" Katrina screamed, almost falling to the ground in an attempt to get to her friend.

"That must've hurt. I would know, I've been hit with a few in my own time." Gluttony laughed slightly, "Who's idea was it to make machines feel pain anyway?" He shook his head and placed his hand against the glowing orb of Light that was her Ghost, "Now, I'm giving you one final chance. Leave and just these two die. Or stay and I kill your teammates as well. I can drain her Light at any time. It's all up to you. These two are dead anyway."

He could barely move out of fear, much less run. Besides, he'd never forgive himself for abandoning them. But what could he do?

A rocket flew out past Aro, aiming directly for Gluttony. He jumped away from Jessie's Ghost, effortlessly dodging the projectile.

Aro spun around to see Asura holding the launcher. Relief washed over him until he heard Spirit's voice, "Aro. Crona. It's not Asura."

Asura spoke, his voice almost inhumanly deep, "I almost forgot how good it feels to be me."

"Asura?" Katrina asked, shock mixed with relief. She looked at Crona, "Did that come from Asura?"

"Name's Wrath." he responded.

"Wrath." Aro whispered.

Wrath(A) still heard him, "Been a while, kid. Hope you're guarding your neck better." he laughed.

Memories of Wrath(A) attempting to decapitate him flashed in his mind. He asked, "Are you here to help them?"

Wrath(A) laughed, a completely different laugh from Asura. Much deeper. More sinister. "Of course not. I'm here to get myself out of here alive." He stated, "I know your type. The big hero. Always has to save the day. You'd rather us die fighting these motherfuckers rather than do the smart thing and escape alive." he pointed at the Heralds.

"Then why not just leave?"

"The Ghost is keeping me here and refuses to leave without your order. Whoever thought it was a good idea to give these little fuckers their own free will…" he shook his head, "Anyway, don't get my motives twisted. I saved the Titan because she can help us and more importantly, me, get out alive."

Gluttony watched the whole thing, growing more and more annoyed by the second. "Don't waste this chance boy. Will you leave or will you watch your team die?" he could barely keep the rage out of his voice.

For a few quiet seconds, no one moved. Then Crona gently let Katrina down onto a boulder. Aro took out his Hand Cannon and Wrath(A) unsheathed his knife, twirling it around his fingers.

Gluttony shook his head, disappointed. "The Gate is to remain alive. Kill the rest."

Wrath(K) was the first to jump into action. He launched his massive form high into the air and slammed down on the ground, sending a fast moving wave of electricity towards the Guardians.

All three managed to successfully evade the attack. Aro immediately started giving orders, "Crona! Take the Titan and Asura-"

"Wrath!"

"Whatever! Lust is yours. I'm going to revive Jessie!" He started for Jessie's Ghost inside the small crater created from Gluttony's blast.

The Herald dropped down in front of him, daring him to try and get past. Without hesitation, Aro switched to his Shotgun and fired straight at Gluttony's head. He quickly twisted to the side, the gun firing off harmlessly into the air. Gluttony grabbed the gun and yanked Aro close, suddenly knocking him back with a force push to the head, hard enough to crack Aro's visor. Aro felt his grip loosen on his weapon as he fell backwards. Gluttony simply tossed the gun over his shoulder.

Aro spent less than a second on the ground. Springing back up, he took out his Hand Cannon, aiming and firing directly at Gluttony. Not a single one succeeded in making contact.

But it did get Aro close enough to throw a punch at the Herald's head. Gluttony's arms came up to stop it but the force behind the punch was still enough to send him sliding backwards. Before Gluttony had a chance to regain his footing, Aro called the Shotgun back to his hand. Moving in close again, Aro aimed the weapon at his opponent's head.

Just as he clicked the trigger, Gluttony's left arm went under the gun and forced it upwards just as it fired. His right hand grabbed onto Aro's neck and his entire body started to give off a faint purple glow. Just as it did, Aro's mind began to fog and slow down. As the swirling glow around Gluttony became stronger, Aro felt weaker and weaker. The Shotgun dropped from his hand. He could barely keep his eyes open and his knees started to buckle.

He formed a fist in his left hand and opened it, allowing a Scatter Grenade to drop to the ground. The tiny energy bolt dropped to the ground and split into even tinier pieces, exploding when they came into contact with anything. Gluttony managed to jump away before it could hurt him, forcing him to release Aro.

"You've gotten better. Congrats." Gluttony admitted, face solemn with a hint of amusement, "But I think I'm done toying with you and your band of misfits." He raised his hand and sent a bolt of green fire into the air. The bolt dissipated with a high pitch screech and Hive suddenly dropped dropped out of the nothingness. Aro quickly retrieved his Shotgun and blew the head off an Acolyte. He released the empty shell before firing again and again and again, switching to his Hand Cannon when he ran out.

His Hand Cannon fired its last shot. Just as it did, a Thrall drove its claws into him, releasing it's disturbing roar. Another Thrall was close behind it. Another pack of three was moving in. Aro jumped into the air, gliding backwards towards another boulder. The 5 Thralls began sprinting in his direction, remaining in a tightly knit unit.

Aro used the time he had bought to focus, loosening the control that was required to be a Voidwalker and delving into his emotions to make use of his Sunsinger abilities. His hand started to crackle and spark. The Thralls' screams were getting louder and louder.

Aro threw his hand out in front of him, releasing a small orange sphere directly into the group of Thrall. The Solar Grenade burst open, completely all the Hive caught in its wake. The Thrall screamed even louder. Whether it was in pain or rage, Aro couldn't tell. He honestly didn't believe they felt pain.

Aro dropped to one knee, breathing hard. He should have waited a little bit before using such an unfamiliar ability. Gluttony's attack was still having an effect on him. Despite his fatigue, he began to reload all his weapons. The fight wasn't over. He had no time to be tired.

* * *

"Damn it!" Wrath cursed. Lust and his guns were keeping him at a solid distance. He couldn't get close. The Hive were an extra problem he didn't need right now. Then he got an idea, "Crona, switch with me!"

She ducked away from Wrath(K)'s hard swipe at her and let Wrath(A) take his attention. She moved towards Lust, who was reloading.

Katrina could only watch from the back. She suddenly got an idea, "Asura-

"If I have to correct you people one more time-"

"Do you have a Sniper?! Have your Ghost give it to me?"

"What the hell could you possibly do with a Sniper?!" He ducked away from a lightning infused punch. Wrath(K) wasn't very fast but he was tireless.

"Just give it to me!"

Wrath(A) went silent, then he groaned. The gun appeared in Katrina's hands. "If you shoot me by mistake…"

"Don't worry about me." She positioned herself to where she could comfortably hold up the gun. It was weaker than what she usually used and without her Ghost, she had no access to ammo should she run out but it would be enough.

She aimed the gun at the head of a Thrall attempting to flank Asura. After it went down, she took the head of another Hive. Then another and another and another. When she ran out, she reloaded without thinking about her actions. After all these years, the Gunslinger's Trance she worked so hard to perfect still refused to fail her. Aim and shoot 5 times, then reload. She had eliminated nearly all the Hive before they could do much to Aro and his team. Even with less distractions, the Heralds were keeping them on the defensive.

She had two bullets left…

* * *

A thought suddenly popped into Crona's head. "Sol, turn off all sensors now!" Her Ghost obeyed without question. Now completely cut off from the outside, she was fighting purely on prior knowledge. She threw a punch at where she believed Lust's exposed head was. He stopped it. She threw her left fist and he stopped it as well.

Just as she hoped he would.

Crona willed her Light into the metal sphere inside her left fist, turning the plain metal orb into a Flashbang. The light coming from it intensified and the grenade exploded.

Crona was sent flying backwards, sliding to a stop on the ground. Sol turned all her sensors back on. Lust's face was contorted in a pained grimace.

"Glad to know you were watching my match so closely." Katrina joked. Crona laughed slightly, standing herself up. Shino took a lot of risks and sometimes a lot of them paid off. Nothing wrong with taking pointers.

Her shields took a few seconds to replenish. A cloak of Arc energy surrounded her and she launched forward off the ground, as if a powerful spring had been placed under her feet. Lust brought his hands up just in time to stop Crona's fist. The impact drove both into the rock wall. His eyes were closed so the attack had obviously affected him.

"I can feel you running through the ground. Good try. But you'll need to do better." he said, laughing at her.

"Crona! Duck now!" Katrina yelled.

She obeyed without question. And Lust's smug smile suddenly exploded.

"That was for Sora, motherfucker." Katrina grimaced. The sudden movements did not help her pain at all.

Lust's headless body went limp. He dropped to his knees and he fell towards the ground. Everyone froze; Guardian and Herald alike.

" _So they can be killed._ " Kain buzzed.

Gluttony suddenly kicked Aro backwards towards the small crater. Aro managed to remain standing. He repeated Kain's words, "So you can be killed!"

Gluttony simply laughed, "We are by no means immortal…" he pointed at Lust, "But you'll need a lot more than that to take us down."

Aro looked over at Lust and his eyes widened in horror. The headless body was standing itself up.

Crona quickly jumped away from the moving body. No one needed to see her face to tell just how horrified she was.

Lust's neck started to spark and crackle like a flame. His head started to grow back as a smoldering mass that soon began taking the form of his face and head. They knew his regeneration was complete when they saw the sick smile he usually had return. He didn't say anything but his gun suddenly burst into bright orange flames. He aimed and fired a single, bigger than normal Golden Gun shot at Katrina.

"Damn it! Katrina!" Crona yelled, attempting in vain to run towards her. The Guardians could only watch as the impact obliterated the boulder and threw a large plume of dust into the air.

Movement not too far left of the blast caught their attention. Katrina had Blinked out of the way just in time. Despite the pain of hitting the ground so hard and despite her broken leg, she righted herself quickly and took aim, this time at Gluttony. She fired her last bullet…

And Gluttony calmly stepped out of the way. The bullet smashed hard into bedrock behind him, throwing up another small dust cloud. He looked at where the bullet impacted and looked back at her. Let out a genuinely amused laugh and pointed at her, "Now that's a Hunter! Resilient as always." He looked down at Aro, "I'd say that you would do well to get you a girl like her but most of humanity won't be around long enough for you to worry about that."

His finger became an open hand, "She certainly won't be at least." The hand started to shine violet.

"No! Stop!" Aro jumped into the line of fire. Gluttony released the Nova Bomb. Aro fired his own.

The two orbs collided in mid air, fighting against each other for a few seconds before destabilizing one another. The orbs fused, shrunk and then exploded outward. The explosion was even more devastating than the last one, throwing a huge plume of dust into the sky.

Quickly getting up off the ground, Aro used the cloud as cover to run towards Jessie's Ghost, quickly reviving her.

"Jessie, are you ok?"

She spun her reconstructed arm around, "That fucking hurt. But I think so. "

"Good. We need to reach Sora. Can you fight?"

"Of course."

"Then make a hard charge for her Ghost. I'll cover you!"

Without further discussion, the two Guardians broke into a hard run into the temple. Any Hive stragglers in their way were easily removed. Gluttony began moving to intercept the two, while Crona and Wrath(A) kept the other two occupied. Careful not to let him touch her again, Jessie placed her forearm in horizontally front of her, running even faster. A circular white shield appeared, covering the entire front half of her body. And she had every intention of ramming it into the Herald. Gluttony jumped, tucked and rolled out of their way to avoid getting hit. But he was back on his feet and getting closer.

Aro suddenly spun around, shielding both Jessie and Sora's Ghost with his body and held his Hand Cannon up to his own head. Gluttony froze with his hand outstretched, his expression shocked.

" _Kain, tell Crona and Spirit to get themselves and the others out of here._ "

" _What?! You can't be serious! I know what you're thinking and it's insane!_ "

 _"Do it, Kain!_ "

After a few seconds, Crona yelled, "Are you out of your mind?! What about you? And Sora and Jessie and Katrina's Ghost? "

"Leave! All of you!"

"But-"

"That's an order!" he roared, cutting her off.

At first she didn't move but then suddenly smashed her fist down onto a large boulder in anger, reducing it to pebbles. And then she and Katrina disappeared. Asura or Wrath(A), whoever was currently in control disappeared as well. Aro, Jessie and Sora were alone with the Heralds.

Aro kept the gun trained on his own head. Gluttony's hand drew closer but stopped when Aro clicked the hammer back in warning. Gluttony laughed, his hand became receptive, "You're not that stupid. Just give me the gun Aro."

"You want it?" Aro asked, slowly and deliberately, "You come get it."

Gluttony didn't move. Wrath(K) and Lust remained in place as well.

"You need me alive remember? I'm in a Darkness Zone with no tethers to keep me alive. " Aro slowly began to stand, "Are you willing to risk my life just for a chance to kill them? A bunch of Guardians that have nothing to do with all of this?"

" _Kain, where's Katrina's Ghost?_ "

" _Right behind us. Jammed to some kind of machine. The machine shows no sign of activity so her Ghost should still be alive._ "

" _Tell Jessie to start moving towards it. Very slowly._ " he commanded.

She soon began moving slowly towards the back of the temple chamber. Lust's gun raised up and Wrath(K) started towards her.

"AH!" Aro warned, their attention returning to him, "I hear one gunshot or see one grenade or _anything_ and I end it all." Jessie was almost there. Just a little bit longer…

"You know, I have to ask…" Lust said, lowering his gun, a look of genuine curiosity on his face, "Why don't you do it anyway?"

Aro remained silent. The gun never moved.

Lust's waited expectantly for an answer. When he didn't get not, his signature smile returned, "That's what I thought. All you have to do is take your own life and the City would be safe again. But you can't do it, can you?" His gun came back up and retained onto Jessie, who froze.

"You may think of yourself as some kind of hero." Gluttony said, "But you're a coward. And you're more of a monster than we are."

"What the hell does that mean?!" Aro yelled, his control on his emotions were slipping.

"Think about it boy. Why did the Darkness chose you? Do you think it was by chance?" he continued, "You're not a hero. So give me the gun and stay out of trouble like we asked when we first met."

Aro still didn't move, but his entire body was starting to shake.

"I said, give me the gun Arochukwu. Give it to me!" Gluttony's face contorted in anger and annoyance.

" _She's got it._ " Kain said in his head.

Aro calmed his breathing, "And I said, come get it."

He stuck his hand behind him, willing his Light to flow into Sora's Ghost, allowing it to reconstruct her body. Having been watching the whole ordeal, Sora quickly sprung into action. The second her feet touched the ground, she formed and launched a large Nova Bomb directly at Lust, who had to jump out of the way to avoid it. The explosion threw a large cloud of dust into the air. Using the attack as a distraction, Jessie ran, grabbed Katrina's Ghost and teleported back to orbit, Sora quickly following behind. Gluttony's face contorted in rage and his hand lashed out at Aro but the whole scene disappeared from view, only to be replaced by the rear interior of his jumpship.

"Is everyone alright?" Aro immediately asked.

"We're fine." Sora responded.

"Asura?" he didn't answer, "Asura?!"

"Yeah, yeah I heard you." Came his groan. His complaining was a relief.

Jessie quickly returned Katrina's Ghost to her and Katrina was transported back to her own ship. All six took off together towards the Tower. Crona reported what had happened to the Vanguard. They ordered an immediate evacuation for all Guardians in the Anchor of Light.

* * *

"And there they go." Lust laughed as the dust cleared. Despite himself, Gluttony chuckled a bit. Wrath(K), as usual, said nothing.

"We did what we came here to do." Gluttony said, "As long as no one else comes through this way, we have no reason to draw anymore attention. We can't recreate the seal right now. Until we can, we take down anyone who attempts to come through."

"And Clovis Bray?"

"Sloth has taken care of them."

Lust laughed again, "From what I heard, it was the same team from the Skywatch. Looks like he did what you couldn't."

Gluttony didn't find it as amusing.

"I'm still confused as to why Greed asked for Sloth to keep them alive. And even more confused as to why you and Envy sided with him. Did you not want revenge for your little mishap at the Skywatch?"

Gluttony didn't answer."

"Is it because of the Warmind Guardian?" List continued, "Or are you simply getting sentimental in your old age?"

When he still didnt answer, Lust gave a condescending snort before turning around and walking towards the temple. Wrath silently followed. Gluttony did soon after but stopped at the entrance. He stared at the ground, the memories of their attempt on Crota's life still fresh in his mind. The spot where he was standing; it's where Vell took his last stand, simply to get them inside and seal the door before his Light was ripped away.

"Hey!" Lust ripping him away from his thoughts. He was farther inside, "Are you coming? Envy said she found our weapons further inside. So let's go."

* * *

 _You probably already know which weapons they're looking for._

 _But why did Gluttony side with his fellow Herald in keeping Team Daniel alive? Find out next time on Dragonball Z!_

… _Or whatever story I'm writing __


	12. The World's Grave Part I

_The World's Grave Part I_

* * *

"Mira." Her Ghost said, capturing her attention. "We're receiving a transmission. Directly from the Speaker."

"One second, please. CUT THE SINGING SHINO!"

He abruptly ceased his tuneless rendition of whatever the hell he was singing from where he was sitting, atop a large pile of Vex robots. Their time in the Citadel had been busy. May was up there with him but slid to the ground to join Mira, "Is something wrong?"

Through Khan, Mira's Ghost, the Speaker answered, "We know you're busy on Venus but we're going to have to bump up your investigation into the World's Grave on the Moon. Finish whatever immediate business you have on Venus and head for the Moon. Can you do that?"

"Consider it done sir." The transmission ended and Shino resumed singing until Mira threw a Vex Goblin eye at his head. "We're heading for the Moon. Right now."

"Is it urgent?!" Shino called.

"We have radios, Shino. Stop yelling."

"You first!"

Mira inhaled sharply in annoyance and pointed a gun in his direction but in the time it took her to turn around, he was gone. She had shot him enough times for him to predict her actions.

Back in her own ship, her Ghost input the coordinates and started up the ship. The trip would take a while but after doing this for sometime, the three had developed ways of keeping busy. May installed a shelf into her ship and read to pass the time. Mira would take apart her guns piece by piece. Shino would just listen to music. It was nice to have a predictable routine. Something to bring order to their world before the chaos of battle.

The trip soon came to an end. The trio of jumpships closed in on the Ocean of Storms and dropped its passengers off in the Archer's Line.

Mira's Ghost began speaking, "So from what I've gathered from Tower intel, the World's Grave is an enormous database of information hidden deep inside their fortress."

"Bust in, steal what we can, leave. Sounds easy enough." Shino said.

"From scouting reports, there's an ancient Hive Knight who holds the key. I can take us there, but you'll have to face him to find the Grave and open it." Khan finished.

"There's a Hive fortress straight ahead." May said, "The outer entrance is littered with Fallen Exiles while the inner entrance has a strong Knight guarding it."

"Take point May." Mira commanded, her Sparrow appearing in front of her.

"Are we just speeding through?" Shino asked, his Sparrow appearing as well.

"The entrance is too narrow. They'd wreck our Sparrows before we could all get through the door." May said.

"In that case…" Mira hopped off her Sparrow and threw a knife into a nearby Shank. It dropped and let out a dying whir before exploding. It was accompanied by Vandal holding a Wire Rifle. She ran up the ramp, ducking and retrieving her knife just as the Fallen fired. She brought the blade up, cutting the barrel of rifle like it was paper. The Vandal fell back in surprise and was shot down before it could recover.

In the time it took her to kill the Vandal, May and Shino were finishing off the rest. Making sure the area was clear, they proceeded inside.

The interior of the base was a mess, thanks to the Fallen's actions. The ceiling was mostly cracked with some panels missing completely. The place looked like it could fall apart at any time. Coming out the other side of the base, down a steep hill in front of the entrance to the temple, was a Hive Knight.

All three slowly descended the hill, in the hoped of not drawing attention and maintaining the element of surprise.

A hard blast to the left shook the ground under them, almost knocking them down. To their surprise, a second Knight was sprinting towards them, letting off bolts from its Arc Boomer. The split in order to avoid a second onslaught. The blast caught the first Knight's attention, who started attacking as well.

Once some distance had been gained between them and he Knights, Shino switched and loaded his rocket launcher, immediately bringing it up and firing. The Knight closest to them, tucked and rolled out out of the rocket's path. The second one quickly manifested a black shield, effectively defending from the attack.

Using her invisibility, Mira slipped behind the closest Knight and attacked the one nearest the door. May leapt clear over the Knight, dropping a Solar Fusion grenade as she did. At the same time, Shino ran towards the Knight, dropped and slid under its widespread legs, leaving a Lightning Grenade right under it. Both grenades exploded, reducing the Knight to dust.

Mira fired her Pulse Rifle once more before the last Knight finally fell.

"You said "Knight"! " Shino yelled, standing himself up. "Not "Knights" May."

She shrugged, "Extra security maybe?"

"Whatever. Where's the key?" Shino asked, looking around.

"Neither of them were the Knights with the key."

His shoulders dropped in disbelief. May shrugged again, "What? Did you really think it'd be that easy?"

"Yes!"

"Well that's your fault."

Mira snorted.

One by one, they climbed up the ledge and cautiously walked into the dark, their only source of light being luminescent crystals growing out of the wall.

"The Hive really tore into the Moon." May's Ghost commented, "Filled with all sorts of chambers and catacombs."

They continued walking, their path leading to a narrow bridge with a drop on both sides. The place was getting darker. They kept going until they happened upon a large hole in the wall. Beyond it were more structures. Hand forged, not carved out of the Moon's insides.

"What… the hell is this?" Shino poked his gun against a large hive hanging from the ceiling, nearly touching the pool of liquid below it. He moved back slightly when it quivered.

"Please stop poking it." Mira said, "I don't feel like dealing with whatever is inside."

"But-"

"I said stop!"

"Yes mother."

They continued down the tunnel that led to the Hall of Wisdom.

And it was was littered with Hive.

"You guys think there's a way to get across without-" Shino fired his Scout Rifle, taking the head off one of the Acolytes, interrupting May's question.

"The answer was "no" by the way." Shino said. The three began to fight through the Hive, encountering several Knights and at least two Wizards among the usual Acolytes and Thrall.

Their objective was to get through alive, so none went out of their way to kill all the Hive.

"The Knight's close. And it's strong." May warned the others once they had gotten out of the main area.

The Guardians walked into an area called the Circle of Bones. Why it was named that, they'd rather not know. But it was different from other Hive chambers in that you could see the open sky. You could also see the bottomless pit that gave the Hellmouth its name but most would rather not focus on that.

Inside a structure that resembled a chamber was the Knight, stomping around. As well as a Wizard.

Shino threw a Flashbang into the chamber. As if on instinct, the Knight rolled away, avoiding the blast. It immediately righted itself and began firing Arc bolts in streams, giving the team little time to avoid them. The Wizard kept its distance, firing its own energy attacks while floating from spot to spot to break tracking.

May fired at the Knight, barely staggering it. Even shots to its head did little to phase it. Despite the Wizard keeping them at a distance, they would need to get in close.

"Mira! I'm gonna drop her shield." She said, pointing to the Wizard, "You'll need to hit both as hard as you can." May started for the Wizard, who in response, conjured a Dark Field for protection

Just being inside the Wizard's Dark Field brought on intense physical pain. But it wasn't pain she hadn't experienced before. May fought through it, bringing up her Solar fusion rifle and letting it discharge in close quarters. The matching energies of the rifle and the Wizard's shield canceled each other out, effectively leaving the screeching Hive monster defenseless.

"Mira, now!"

She brought up her Pulse Rifle, letting her Light flow through it and willing it to burst into Solar flames. Shino jumped back from the reeling Knight. Instead of firing off three Solar bolts, Mira focused all her energy into just one. The bolt pierced the Knight's head, blasting straight through and puncturing into the shieldless Wizard. Both crumbled to dust, dead. A glowing green sphere rolled out of the remains of the Knight.

May's Ghost picked it up. "This is the key." it confirmed, "Let's head to the Grave." The Ghost seemed to reconsider its choice of words, "The _World's_ Grave. Not ours"

They continued down the long dark tunnel, deeper into the fortress. The path was long and winding, occasionally requiring small drops off of ledges. Deeper into the tunnel, their Ghosts had to come out and provide them light to see.

"Keep going down the deep dark hole, no big deal." Mira remarked, the sarcasm obvious.

"As long we don't run into anything-AH SHIT!" Shino fired his gun into the group of Thrall they had stumbled upon. Only one went down, the rest screamed in rage and began swarming the team.

After breaking down the Thrall, they continued until the tunnel led to an open and lit area. It was also crawling with Hive. Shino focused his fire on the Knight running towards them while the girls slipped around it and took down the others.

"Right through that door." Khan said, "That's the Grave."

Finishing off the first set of Hive and closest to the doorway, Mira began firing into the chamber. All three chose to eliminate the Hive surrounding the Grave from a distance. None were left when they were done.

The Grave was a large mechanical pillar that stretched from the floor to the high ceiling. It have of an ethereal glow that illuminated the room. Jumping and gliding clear to the other side, May released her Ghost and it got to work, siphoning as much information as it could as fast as it could. The Hive were probably sending reinforcements.

May leaned lazily against the machine, staring at the back wall of the chamber. It was filled with figures, carved into it but it was too dark to make out their features. Two were Hive Knights, one holding a giant sword and the other a Hive Arc Boomer. The statue in the center was not holding anything. It wasn't even standing. It was sitting, it's knees pointed upward and its arms draped over them. It was dwarfed by the Hive Knights but something about this statue felt unnatural. Even more than the Hive itself. May could not put her finger on it.

Until it moved.

* * *

 _I decided to make it so that Hunters can fire their Golden Gun through any gun they are holding._

 _The whole Hand Cannon thing never made sense to me. Where do they keep it? Does it manifest like the Hammer of Sol? Hmmm_

 _Comments are always welcome!_


	13. The World's Grave Part II

_The World's Grave Part II: Greed the Defender_

* * *

"Um, guys?" May whispered.

"Hey did you guys hear about the Anchor of Light? Vanguard ordered an evacuation." Mira said.

"Guys?!" The person was standing themselves up.

"Yeah, I just heard." Shino replied. "Just like the Skywatch last year. Were the Hive and Fallen going at it again?"

"YOU GUYS!"

"What?!" They both looked at where she was pointing.

The person was a Guardian. A Titan judging by the heavy armor and had obviously been sitting there for a long time. But no one else knew they were coming here. The Vanguard wouldn't even tell them why.

The Titan was male and spoke with a deep and rough voice, "You shouldn't have come here, you know."

"Just who are you?" Mira asked, standing up.

He seemed to think for a moment before answering, "You can call me Greed."

"Greed?" Shino laughed slightly, "You must have really pissed off your Ghost."

"Is making fun of him really the smartest thing to do right now?" May whispered furiously. But to their surprise, the Titan let out a genuine hearty laugh.

"You're a pretty funny, kid. I mean that." Greed said, once he had calmed down, "I regret having to do this, I really do…"

His tone became deadly serious, "But you _really_ should not have come here." Greed lifted his right leg and slammed it back onto the ground.

For a few seconds, there was silence. And then a loud screech rang out. Joined by more and more. The bony claws of Thrall started to poke through the small lake near the entrance of the Grave.

"That lake was a puddle when I stepped in it…" Shino said in slight shock.

"Forget that! Just start shooting!" Mira commanded, already blowing off heads. More and more Thrall joined the fray. Acolytes, Knights and even Wizards were coming seemingly out of nowhere. The three were found absolutely everything to keep them from getting on the platform, but they were quickly being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Hive. Greed was calmly leaning against the back wall, watching the carnage unfold.

A Thrall's claw drew marks into Shino's armor, only to be knocked away. A meteoric blast from a Knight's Hive Boomer knocked Mira down with a pained yell. Shino moved to help her up, only to see four more blasts heading their way.

"Get close to me!" He called out. They quickly did as they were told. Gathering his Light and expelling it outward, the Ward of Dawn effectively stopped the attacks. Focusing his Light even more, the shield started to harden, preventing any Hive from getting through. They scratched against the force field in unbridled rage.

"May. Through the top." Shino groaned, his arms still spread outward. He could barely remain standing, much less talk. It was taking everything he had just to keep the shield solid and every hit against it threatened to make him buckle under the pressure.

She jumped through the top, which Shino made intangible. Once she was through, he solidified it again, allowing her to stand on top of it.

Without a moment's hesitation, May entered Radiance. The world started to slow down and even in the near darkness, she could see perfectly. Pointing her hands in the direction of the Hive, she created waves of ethereal flame that could still burn in the lack of air . The fire tore through the Hive, reducing them to ashes. She brought her hands up, causing the flames to shoot up into the air and crash down on the Hive like waves in the ocean, reducing anything she pleased into nothing.

Mira took their counter attack as a chance to check on Greed. He wasn't there.

May suddenly threw herself off the Void dome, twisting around in midair to fire at something, the Angel of Light ability keeping her temporarily aloft. Mira looked upwards to see Greed in the air, dropping down and smashing against the Ward of Dawn. The entire room shook with his attack. Shino yelled out in pain and dropped to his knees, the shield falling with him. Mira quickly grabbed him and Blinked away before Greed could land on top of them.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Shino said, coughing before lifting his large frame off of her.

Greed straightened himself out, gazing at them through his visor. May quickly rejoined her team. "My Ghost got everything it could." She announced, "We could leave right now."

"Who is this guy?" Shino asked, "We're all Guardians. Why is he attacking us?"

Greed continued to stare at them, probably attempting to predict their plans.

"Maybe he's turned traitor. Like Dredgen Yor…" his Ghost answered.

"There's something about him that wasn't there with Dredgen Yor when he first turned traitor. But I think you're right." May said.

"Well if that's the case, we very well can't let him run around." Mira decided.

"Your plan?"

She brandished her knife, "We're bringing him in. Spread out."

May slowly began circling Greed to the left, stopping directly in front of him. Shino to the right. Mira readjusted the grip on her knife before charging the Titan.

Greed's arm came up, stopping the blade cold. His entire body was covered by the Force Barrier, one apparently strong enough to stop a blade. Shino came in with a punch, which was similarly stopped. But once he did, they simultaneously wrapped their arms around his, attempting to subdue him. With his arms restrained, May quickly brought up her Hand Cannon, firing at his chest.

His body shook with each impact. But he made no effort to tear himself free. The gun soon clicked empty and in response, he started laughing. None of the bullets had entered him, all stopped by his shield and fell to the ground.

"What's so funny?" Shino growled, tightening his grip.

He stopped laughing, "I was worried that I'd be bored by you. I guess I was wrong." Greed looked up at May, "If you're all done, young lady, I guess it's my turn." He suddenly brought up his left arm, lifting Mira up with it and threw her towards May. Once his arm was freed, he manifested a violet orb in his left palm and smashed it against Shino. The orb exploded, forcing Shino backwards.

Shino dropped to his knee again, feeling even weaker than before. " _Suppressor grenade."_ His Ghost said.

"I figured. I guess I'm out for a little while." He suddenly ducked and rolled out of the way. Just as he did, Greed slammed into the spot where he was standing, creating a small crater. He didn't get far enough because Greed's leg came up and smashed into his chest, sending him flying into the opposite wall with no way to defend himself. Shaking his head, Shino looked up just a bit too late. Force Barrier up, Greed body slammed him, deepening the hole into the wall and throwing a cloud of dust into the air.

" _Shino's down._ " Khan said.

" _I see that. Damn it."_ Mira cursed. Greed jumped out of the falling cloud. Shino was slumped against the destroyed wall, his Ghost floating over his head.

Greed straightened out, dusting himself off. He looked back at Shino and then back at them, "Your friend should've been more careful. I don't need to kill you two or split you up to kill him. I can easily just rip the Light out of him. I learned that the hard way." His easygoing tone was gone by the last part. Almost as if he was speaking from memory. He looked back at Shino and back at them before walking back towards Shino's Ghost.

Mira brought up her gun again, firing off the three Solar shots. At the same, May launched a large Nova Bomb directly at him. Greed made no effort to avoid it. The blasts rocked the chamber and threw yet another cloud of dust into the air. Wasting no time, both began running towards Shino and Greed. Just before Mira could touch his Ghost, something stopped her. It felt like a solid wall but the dust was covering it from view. May ran into the same obstacle.

"A Ward of Dawn. He created a small one." Mira figured out.

"Mira! Shino's inside it!"

"What?" She looked back and started to slam her fist against shield. Greed was having no issue solidifying the Ward. He began walking over to Shino again, leaving the two to helplessly try to break it down. Nothing they did even wavered his concentration. They could just watch as he reached out for Shino's Ghost.

Mira suddenly felt warm all over. She looked at her hands and saw that her whole body was shining with Light. May started forming the Nova Bomb, infusing it with Solar Light. She drew her arm back and rammed the bolt straight into the dome. Greed paused right before he could drain the Ghost, his whole body trembling with the massive pressure that just hit the shield.

 _"Mira!"_ her Ghost called, " _A hole where May hit it!"_

May dropped to her knees, slumping over. Mira jumped through where she had hit it. Greed's hands came up just in time to stop the long blue Arc Saber from stabbing into him. Her anger empowered her but in terms of raw strength, Titans were unmatched. Greed slowly forced her backwards, forcing her down to one knee. He brought his arm up with the intent to smash it down…

And he suddenly went flying away, slamming into one of the Hive statues. Parts of the wall crumbled, burying him.

Despite the physical toll of Radiance and two consecutive Nova Bombs, May brought herself to stand up and run around the two to revive Shino. He was surrounded in a cloak of lightning and holding May up, who could barely stand at that point.

"Shino-" Mira started.

"I'm fine."

She let out a small tired laugh, "Good." She looked down at her hand. Where was her knife? She looked around for where it might have fallen.

Greed suddenly appeared in front of her. Shino was able to grab May and jump away. Mira wasn't so lucky. Mira was slammed against the wall followed by a burning pain in her bicep. Greed had taken her knife with her when he had been knocked away. He stabbed it through her left arm and deep into the wall. He moved away and started walking towards Shino and May.

May still couldn't move. Shino tried to pick her up and get away but was brutally kicked down. May fell some distance away, groaning in pain.

"You had to make this difficult." Greed growled, kicking him again, this time hard enough to dent his armor. He raised his open palm towards Shino's face, "Any last words?"

Mira was struggling to pull the knife out of her arm. May still couldn't bring herself to stand up

Shino simply said, "None."

Greed's hand latched onto Shino's face, shoving his head back into the ground, "Never die with regrets, kid. They'll haunt you. Even in death."

Gun appearing in her free right hand, Mira desperately started shooting at him until the clip was empty. As usual, it did nothing. Nothing they had done was showing any sign of slowing him down. Why was Shino just laying there?

She abandoned the gun, desperately attempting again to pull the knife out, "Move you fuckin' idiot, what the hell are you doing?!"

Shino didn't answer. He couldn't bring himself to move. He really was going to die. He was going to sleep again. And this time, he wouldn't be waking up.

"Amir, get him out of here!" Mira commanded, talking to Shino's Ghost.

" _Don't you dare._ " Shino growled to his Ghost, "Get out while you still can. Go home."

"No…" May said weakly, beginning to stand up.

Pain started to overwhelm him. Tendrils of blue Light began rising and entering Greed as the Light left his body. Mira's struggling became much more desperate.

" _Leave."_

"I can't…" Mira said, on the verge of tears. The knife refused to budge and the pain was debilitating.

The pain reached mind shattering heights. Everything started to darken, " _GO!"_

 _"I WON'T!"_ she roared back _._ Shino didn't respond. He couldn't. Just breathing presented a challenge.

Mira continued, the tears falling, "I promised Marie I would never leave anyone behind again. We both did."

She was silent for just a second longer, " _And_ _I'm not breaking it now. I'm dragging you back to Christine._ _Alive. Whether you want me to or not! "_ Full blown rage replaced her despair. She finally ripped the blood covered knife out of her arm, not even feeling the pain.

"Christine?" Greed suddenly asked softly, looking at Mira and then back down at Shino. Shino's pain suddenly stopped and the wisps of Light evaporated.

Mira didn't understand his hesitation but she was going to use it. " _Khan."_ The large, streamlined, dark blue rocket launcher materialized into Mira's hands. Greed was still demanding an answer from Shino before he killed him. The launcher started to transmit a soft ringing into her ear, signaling it was ready to fire.

" _MOVE_!" She commanded. And she clicked the trigger.

May suddenly bolted up and threw herself towards Shino. She Blinked both of them away from Greed. Seeing the bright purple projectile coming his way, Greed threw himself backwards. The rocket suddenly curved upwards in his direction, making contact and exploding. He fell to the ground in a smoking heap.

May looked over at her, " _Truth?!_ You're using _Truth?!"_

"Yup." She fired again. Greed jumped to the side, only for the projectile to dart into his direction and explode. She felt the mission would be dangerous so she got permission to use the Exotic weapon ahead of time. She should have used it in the first place.

Whoever this Greed character was, judging by the way he staggered when he tried to stand up again, he could be hurt. "May, start prepping your ship for take off. Shino and I will come back for our own."

"You still want to take him?"

"You saw what he can do. He's dangerous to every Guardian he comes across. We _have_ to take him in."

May nodded before returning to orbit. Mira fired the last missile in _Truth._

Seeing no point in attempting to dodge the projectile, Greed was knocked back into the Grave. The machine was uprooted entirely and fell against the back wall, tearing a hole through it.

In a similar manner to Greed, Shino leapt up high into the air and dropped directly onto Greed, cracking with lightning . The impact caused the World's Grave to shatter and created a crater in the ground under it. Even after Shino stood up and restrained Greed, electricity still crackled throughout the area. Greed tried to move but with his dropped defenses, both attacks did much more damage than usual.

"I'm ready to go." May said.

Using _Truth_ drained a lot of Light from her. Mira felt her knees begin to buckle but refused to fall down. She could rest later, "We're coming. Take off as soon as we appear."

* * *

 _What do you guys think of the length? Should I attempt to make it longer or is it fine how it is?_

 _Fighting scenes tend to move at a faster rate though._


	14. A New Spark

_Short chapter for you people. TTK is acting up on me_

* * *

 _A New Spark_

The ships finally docked and shut down. Aro barely noticed. He probably would have stayed in the ship if Kain hadn't woken him from his daze. The others were already on the ground, all seeming as exhausted as he was, physically and mentally. Together, they started walking towards the Tower Watch, Aro and Katrina slightly ahead of the the others. Crona spoke softly with Jessie and Sora. Asura hadn't spoken a word since they left the Moon.

Aro stepped out into the sun, wincing and shielding his eyes from the sudden brightness after so long in the dark. Once his eyes had adjusted, he softly asked Katrina, "So what now?"

She looked at him in silence before speaking, "We're going to go to med wing, make sure there's nothing we need to worry about. Then report our…our failure back to the Vanguard." She said "failure" with such disgust, it took Aro slightly by surprise.

Jessie's metal face may have been incapable of showing emotion but the yellow lights that were her eyes were narrowed and pointed towards the ground.

Crona put a hand on Jessie's shoulder, "You got home alive. That's what counts, isn't it? It was the Vanguard that ordered us to come get you. Or avenge you if necessary. They'll understand. Trust me."

Jessie's eyes opened up more and Katrina smiled slightly. Sora then asked, "They seemed to know you three. Have you met them before?"

Aro, Asura and Crona looked at one another before Aro decided, "We're not at liberty to answer that."

"But-"

"By order of the Speaker. And the Vanguard. Believe me, we would tell you if we could."

Sora observed the three for sometime before smiling herself, "Ok then. I'll trust you." She started to walk away, waving behind her. Jessie bowed her head slightly before following. "But you will tell us someday." Katrina said. It wasn't a question.

"Of course."

She left, jogging to catch up with her team. Aro waited until they disappeared from sight before sighing and heading into the Vanguard Hall. He'd kill to go to sleep right now. Pretend this day never happened.

Inside, was Kayla calmly sitting down, right leg crossed over the left. Erek sat next to her, hunched over and glaring at the wall. Daniel was pacing, angrily mumbling to himself. His face softened when he saw them but only slightly. He didn't stop pacing.

"Did something happen?" Crona started, hoping to break the silence.

Daniel suddenly and viciously punched the steel wall, denting it. He continued his pacing with even more energy while his Ghost fixed the damage he had inflicted to his own hand.

"That bad?" Crona asked, slightly taken back.

"Calm down Daniel." Erek said, looking up at him.

"Calm down, he says." Daniel muttered, glaring at the ground. Aro stepped in front of him and Daniel paused his pacing, staring up at him. His eyes softened a little more.

"DANNY!" An excited voice interrupted him. All six recognized it immediately. Daniel's anger shifted to surprise.

Maya Suros ran into the hall and wrapped her arms around her brother's waist. She had the family's signature black hair and brown eyes. But her's weren't nearly as hard as her brothers'. The gold bracelet jingled around her wrist.

"Maya, what are you doing here? How did you get here?"

Her smile disappeared, "Uhh…" She was stalling.

" _Aro_." Kain called inside his head, " _Something feels very off about Maya. More than usual_."

 _"I feel it too_."

Christine walked into the hallway after her, smiling when she saw her brother. Aro had seen pictures of their mother, who died giving birth to Maya. They could almost pass for sisters. She usually wore darker colors than Maya, the brightest thing on her was the light blue scarf covering her hair and the gold pendant around her neck.

"Christine. Is something wrong?" Daniel asked, letting Maya go to hug her.

"I know you're busy but Tarlowe's on a bit of a rampage right now." Christine explained.

"It can't possibly be that serious." Daniel said.

"It can and is that serious!" Tarlowe's voice boomed. He slowly stomped down the stairs, "We need to see the Speaker. And the Vanguard. Immediately."

Maya looked down meekly. Aro just now noticed a backpack slung over her shoulder. It was twitching. Or at least he thought it was. Maybe he was just tired.

Daniel's anger returned, "They're a bit pre-occupied with protecting humanity but I'm sure they could push you to the top of the list. You know, since you're just that important."

"Be an oversized little boy on your own time, _Danny_. Not on mine." Tarlowe shot back.

Teeth bared, Daniel started towards him, until Christine moved in between the two.

"As I said. They are BUSY!" he almost shouted, "Who the hell do you think you are, just barging in here unannounced? What the fuck could be so important?!"

Tarlowe's eyes narrowed but then he shrugged nonchalantly, "Open the bag, Maya."

The bag's twitching was getting more and more violent. The young girl looked down at her feet, hesitating.

" _I said open it!"_ his tone suddenly harsh.

She flinched and with her eyes seemingly on the verge of tears, she slid the bag off her shoulder and opened the top.

A Ghost slowly floated its way out. It's bright eye observing the small group before giving an excited, "Hello!"

A shocked quiet fell over the entire room. Even Asura's mouth had dropped open slightly. One by one, each of their Ghosts came out for a better look.

Tarlowe Suros repeated himself slowly. To make sure there was absolutely no chance of him being misunderstood, " _We need to see the Speaker. AND the Vanguard."_

* * *

 _This won't be the last time we see Team Katrina. I'll try to give them a regular part throughout the series_


	15. More Questions than Answers

_More Questions than Answers_

* * *

How do you even know the Ghost is hers?!" Daniel asked, still disbelieving.

"I am Maya's Ghost. She named me A.J." It responded.

"Lucky guess." Tarlowe said, giving a fake smile.

"But she's only 10 years old!" Daniel insisted.

"And yet here we are." he replied, spreading his arms out, "Why is a Ghost claiming her 11 years early?!"

"All Ghosts know the protocol. You claim your Guardian at 21 years." Kayla recalled, "This has never happened before. Do you have an explanation for this A.J.?"

"I don't think I've ever felt a stronger connection to the Light. I was just…drawn to her."

"That's not a reason to break protocol! Goddamn it…" Daniel cursed, rubbing his face.

Maya had been staring at her feet the whole time, "…Daniel?" she asked softly, trying to get his attention.

"Caesar. Tell the Vanguard its urgent."

"Tarlowe?" she asked again, voice cracking with sadness. He wasn't listening.

"I've told them but they're a bit preoccupied." Caesar announced, "We should just wait for now." Tarlowe sat down; Daniel directly across from him with neither speaking.

Seeing the young girl on the verge of tears, Aro stood, "While we wait, Maya, would you like a tour of the Tower?"

"What? Why?" Tarlowe demanded.

"She's got the Ghost. She is a Guardian." Aro replied, "Whether you two like it or not."

"I'll come with you." Daniel said, starting to stand.

"No. You won't." Aro said, a bit more curt than he intended. Daniel looked slightly taken back by his bluntness. If the others were surprised, they didn't show it. Daniel slowly dropped back down, crossing his arms.

"Let's go, Maya." With one last look at her brothers, Maya got out of her seat and slowly followed him out into the Tower Watch. Christine then stood up and left with them. Even Crona followed the three out.

Asura instinctively started to stand as well until Crona put a hand on his shoulder, "We'll be back soon. Stay here and get some rest."

"Who the hell can rest with these two in the same room?" he whispered, speaking for the first time in hours.

Crona snorted, "I know. That's why I'm leaving." she said. He swatted her hand away and she jogging out to catch up with the others.

* * *

"I apologize for the guys." Christine started.

Aro gave her a small smile, "Nothing I haven't seen before. I just really wanted to get Maya out of there."

They continued walking, Maya ahead of them, initial sadness replaced by excitement, conversing with her Ghost. Her enthusiasm was understandable. She was seeing the Tower in a whole new light. Every thing was of interest to her. Even things as simple as the vaults and her ability to now access it had her squealing. She stopped at the Tower ledge, staring at the Traveler.

"Is your brother honestly surprised by this?" Crona asked, "She's always had a thing for "reading the Traveler". She has natural connection to the Light that a lot of Guardians have to train for years to achieve."

"It was pretty obvious from the start that she'd be a Guardian. Just not this early." Christine said.

"It's not like we're going to send a ten year old to fight a Kell."

"Still…" Christine stopped behind Maya, out of her earshot. Aro and Crona did as well, "We were hoping to keep her out of this for a while. These aliens. These monsters took our father and then they took Uncle Vell. Tarlowe may seem hard and unfeeling but deep down, I know he wonders if or when the day will come that Daniel goes out and never comes back. Now he's got to add Maya to his list of worries."

" _Katrina, Sora and Jessie must've felt that too._ " Kain said. Aro simply nodded, in response to both Christine and Kain.

Aro walked up next to May, "So what gave you the idea to name it A.J."

Maya took a second before answering, "Dad and Mom. Adrian and Joanne."

Aro nodded. He then took the piece of cloth wrapped around his waist and handed it to her. The one with the two names on it, "I took my name from here. I gave Kain the other one."

"Who is this Kain?" she asked, pointing to the name on the cloth.

"I have no idea. But I'm working on it." he answered while retying the cloth.

Maya swiveled around, "What about you?" she asked, speaking to Crona.

"What about what?"

"Why did you name your Ghost Sol?"

She snorted,"Oh that?! No specific reason! I just liked the name." Maya giggled.

Crona suddenly became serious, "What we do is dangerous, Maya."

"Yeah, I know." She turned back towards the Traveler, "Daniel never really tells me about his missions when I ask."

"You're a smart girl; so I'm sure you understand why."

Maya was quiet for a minute before asking softly, "Do you think…do you think Tarlowe and Daniel are mad at me?"

Aro's heart fell at the sadness in her voice. But looking at how they reacted, he couldn't blame her. He'd have to talk with Daniel when everything had calmed down.

Crona frowned and crossed her arms, "I wouldn't say mad. More like…worried out of their minds. My team just came back from a rescue mission on the Moon. We barely made it in time."

"But they're ok, right?" She grew genuinely worried.

"Yeah, yeah. They're fine. But it supposed to be a routine patrol mission. And these three were especially good at what they do. Even the best meet their match. Everyone is just worried for you."

She slowly kneeled down, coming to eye level, "So I'll ask one last time. Are you really are Maya's Ghost?" Crona asked, kneeling down to the young girl's level. Her face stern.

"Yes. I really am."

Crona's stern expression turned to Maya, looking her before becoming a warm smile. She extended her hand to the young girl, "Well then, welcome to the family." Maya took it, smiling.

She then looked at her Ghost, looked at Kain and Sol and then back to her own before asking, "Do all Ghost have to look the same?"

They were surprised by the question.

"Not at all!" AJ chirped.

They were even more surprised by the answer.

"Wait, you can change your appearance?" Crona asked her Ghost.

"Well, yeah. All Ghosts can." Sol buzzed.

"You never said anything before!"

"You've never asked before!"

Maya simply giggled before saying, "Ok, uh…change to pink!"

"It's ok. I can just read your mind." A.J promptly shifted to a warm dark pink tone with dark grey stripes on its top and bottom spikes. Small grey lights appeared on its left and right spikes, "So?" A.J asked, spinning around, "What do you think?"

A loud crash blew out from the Tower Hangar, interrupting her answer. Aro and Crona instinctively pushed Christine and Maya behind them.

 _"Aro, do you feel that?!"_

 _"I do. It feels…dark."_

* * *

"DO NOT SLOW DOWN, MAY!" Mira roared as Greed sent her flying backwards.

"This is by far the stupidest thing we've ever done!" May screamed back. Keeping the ship stable at such a ridiculous speed was a workout by itself.

"Don't be ridiculous! This barely makes the list!" Shino's joked before Greed threw his elbow back into his face, cracking the visor. Probably his nose as well. He fell back and Greed tried to stand, only to be tackled down again by Mira. He was still weak from the fight.

"Get us as close as possible!"

"INSIDE?!"

"JUST CLOSE!"

Shino smashed another Storm Fist into Greed's head, hoping to stun him. May kept her speeding ship focused on the Tower Hangar. Just a little bit longer.

"May, break off!" Mira commanded, "Now, Khan! Now!"

May banked her ship left, taking her away from the Tower Hangar. Just as she did, Mira's Ghost teleported her, Shino and Greed outside of the ship. All three whistled through the air, hurtling straight for the Hangar entrance. Greed attempted to push both of them off but to no avail. All three of them flew through the entrance before finally hitting the Hangar floor, rolling to a stop.

Mira's helmet disappeared, as did Shino's. She painfully rolled off her back once Khan had fixed her shattered leg and arm. Greed was probably just as hurt. Purple light could be seen shining through his thick armor and his twisted arm corrected itself. With a pained groan, Greed slowly but desperately started to get up and run up the stairs towards the main area. Shino was already after him.

"What the hell is going on?" Tarlowe asked as Guardians rushed out of the Vanguard Hall.

"No clue…" Daniel stood up and started slowly walking in the direction of the throng. The others followed him.

Suddenly several people at the front of the crowd jumped back, allowing Aro to see two Guardians tumble down the stairs, one with a helmet on and another without. The one without a helmet was Shino. He quickly stood up and grabbed the unknown Guardian in a vice grip around his neck.

"Shino?!" Christine asked, trying to get close only to be stopped by Aro, "Shino, what's going on?"

Mira trudged down the stairs. "Get him to the interrogation room. We'll explain everything there." she said.

Daniel quickly stepped in, helping Shino hold the struggling Guardian down. They dragged the struggling Titan down to the interrogation rooms. Zavala was there waiting inside the interrogation room while Ikora and Cayde sat behind a window. Aro and Daniel joined them while Shino dragged the still fighting Guardian into the interrogation room. He forced the Guardian into the chair and when he tried to force himself up, Zavala punched him with a fist full of lightning. The shock from the Storm Fist stunned him long enough for Shino to restrain his hands behind the reinforced metal chairs.

Shino stepped back and fell against the wall, breathing hard and dripping with sweat. "Shino what's going on?" Zavala asked.

"This bastard just tried to kill us!" Shino yelled angrily, a rare thing for him.

"What?"

"He was in the World's Grave!"

Cayde, who heard through the window peering into the interrogation room commanded, "What's your name?"

The Guardian didn't answer. Just stared straight ahead at Daniel and Aro.

"You were asked a question, Guardian." Ikora said.

Still silent.

"Fine then…" Zavala decided. He wrapped a thick arm around Guardian's neck. The Guardian immediately started thrashing. Zavala hooked a large hand under the chin of the Guardian's helmet and attempted to force it off. Beads of sweat formed on Zavala's head as he attempted to rip the other man's helmet off until finally, it gave way.

Zavala stepped back, took a moment's look at the Guardian's face…and the broken helmet dropped from his hand, clattering to the ground.

The Titan slowly looked up. He had dark brown skin and black, curly hair shaved down. A small nose, hard mouth and a scar running up the side of his face. His eyes. They were blood red.

Daniel forced himself closer to the window to get a closer look, his breath fogging the glass. Closer or farther. It didn't matter. He still couldn't believe it.

"Vell?" Zavala asked, "Vell Tarlowe?"

* * *

 _Maya's Ghost's new shell is the Pale Dawn shell. Seemed to fit her personality best._

 _Oh and Greed is the Titan Vell Tarlowe._


	16. Old Wounds Make New Ones

_Old Wounds Make New Ones_

* * *

"Vell?" Cayde said in complete disbelief.

"That's Vell?!" Kain exclaimed, forgetting it was speaking out loud.

"Greed." He corrected the Ghost and Cayde.

Aro was speechless. Everyone else in there saw someone they recognized. A face they knew. But all he could see were that of pair glowing red eyes contrasting against Greed's dark skin. One of the pairs from his nightmares. He couldn't bring himself to speak. All he could do was watch the exchange in silence.

"But you-you're dead." Cayde stammered. He looked over at Ikora, "Ikora, he's dead!"

The Titan's throaty chuckle could easily be heard over the intercom, "Obviously."

"You did die! On the Moon!"

"Yes I know, I was there." The sarcasm in his tone biting, "Sacrifice myself to seal the Temple of Crota. Helmet shattered in the vacuum of space and everything. Very dramatic."

"Explain yourself, Vell!" Ikora was getting frustrated.

He scoffed, "You've been told about Gluttony, Wrath and Lust. What do I need to explain?"

"How did you become what you are?"

Greed's smile faltered. He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear it before replying, "I offered myself to the Dark for a second chance at life. We all did."

"Who offered you a second chance?"

His face became a pained grimace, "I…can't tell you."

"Who else took the deal? Are there 7 of you?"

He shook fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat and repeated, "I can't answer."

"Why did you take the deal?" Zavala asked, circling Greed. He was more angry and disappointed than anything else.

Greed lowered his head when Commander Zavala came around to his front. Despite his place among the Darkness, he still had the utmost respect for his old commander, "There was…something. There was something I wanted." Greed said finally, "More than anything. When I was finally taken down in front of the Temple of Crota and while I watched my own Light be ripped from my body, I realized I would never have it."

"Is that where your name comes from?" Zavala demanded, his usual composure slipping, "What the hell could be so important that you'd not only risk the City and its people but your own free will and mortality as well?"

Greed never answered. He just kept twitching and twisting his head in obvious discomfort. Veins were popping up on his neck and his forehead shined with sweat. But he showed no signs of trying to break his restraints. Aro noticed that his breathing had also sped up. He remembered Gluttony and the other Heralds. Helmet-less, on the airless Moon. Did they need to breathe or not?

" _Aro_?" Kain said, removing him from his thoughts, " _Daniel_." Aro looked over at him. He had never seen the other man in as much shock and bewilderment as he was in that moment. He hadn't said a thing since coming inside and seeing Greed's face and eyes. All the color was gone from his own face, giving him a sick pale color.

"Daniel." he called softly, putting a hand on his chest and another on his lower back, "Come on, sit down." He tried to lead the Titan towards the back bench but he wouldn't budge. He wouldn't even blink.

Taking a quick look at Aro, Ikora continued her interrogation, "Explain the Gate."

"I can't answer that." Greed said again, looking more and more in distress.

Cayde slammed a fist on the desk, "You just answered several of our questions! What makes this different?!"

Greed was rocking in the chair now, his chest heaving and he was frantically looking around the small room. He looked like he was going to be sick all over the metal floor.

Aro was still trying to move Daniel back. Daniel responded by slowly pushing Aro arms off of him, softly saying, "No…no." He never took his eyes off Greed.

Cayde gave both of them a look over before ordering, "Daniel, Aro, you two need to wait outside."

Greed's head snapped up at the name, "Daniel?"

Daniel suddenly pushed closer to the window, pressing against it. Greed still couldn't see him but he called his name again.

Figuring that maybe Daniel can get him to talk, Ikora moved away from the intercom, pressing the button so they could talk.

"Vell…" Daniel said. Greed didn't correct him.

"My dad. M-my father. Venus. _Wha…what happened?_ " Daniel stammered softly, voice cracking on the last question. When Greed didn't answer, Daniel suddenly slammed his fist against the glass. It quivered from the impact. "WHY DID YOU LEAVE?" He screamed, "WHY DID NEVER TELL US?!"

"I…" Greed started, "I can't answer." Daniel started shaking with unbridled rage.

Greed started heaving again, "Zavala…Zavala, you need to let me go."

"And why the hell would we do that?" Zavala demanded.

"Please! Just let me go! I have to go! He's… _He's calling me!_ " Greed started struggling against his restraints. He kept mumbling his last three words over and over and over. His rocking became more and more violent.

"Is he having a seizure? What the hell is wrong with him?" Cayde asked, cautiously standing up. Greed just kept mumbling the words over and over.

Daniel slammed his fist against the glass again, "MY FATHER, VELL! TELL ME!

"I can't." Greed said again.

"Alright, that's enough." Cayde said, starting to push Daniel away from the glass with Aro attempting to restrain him. Daniel tried to shove them off, practically having a fit now.

"VELL!"

"I'm sorry! He won't let me." Greed yelled desperately. He could be heard through the glass now. " _He won't let me!_ "

"TELL ME, VELL! TELL ME!"

Greed finally screamed, " _I CAN'T ANSWER!_ " With an ear splitting roar, he ripped his arms up and broke his restraints with strength he didn't seem to possess before. He jumped out of the chair, boosted himself off the table and threw himself through the supposedly unbreakable window as if it wasn't there. The others barely had time to react. He landed on top Cayde who moved instinctively. His hand moved in a blur, instinctively grabbing and shoving his knife through Greed's armor and deep into his side, causing the Titan to roar out in pain. Ikora pushed him away with the force of her will, sending him into smashing into the wall, hard enough to dent it. Neither the impact nor the knife wound seemed to slow Greed down. He stood up, covering the glowing wound with his left hand.

In his right hand was Cayde's gun.

Ikora ducked as he started shooting the door. Once successfully clearing the way, he charged and slammed through the door , tackling the first person he could get ahold of to the ground and forcing them up with him.

Tarlowe stood deathly still with Greed holding the gun to the side of his face.

"Everyone is going to fucking calm down." Greed growled. He had removed his hand from where Cayde had stabbed him in order to keep a better grip on his hostage's neck. The wound had healed.

Tarlowe struggled uselessly in the vice but froze when he saw Greed's face, "Vell?! What's going on? What are you doing?!" Tarlowe choked in Greed's grip.

"Getting out of here. And you're helping me." he answered. To everyone else, he said, "If I were you, I wouldn't do something I might regret later." he cocked the gun, keeping his finger on the trigger.

With Tarlowe in tow, Greed slowly started to back out of the interrogation room. Guardians who were outside the room jumped up and drew their various weapons at the sight of one of another Guardians holding a civilian at gunpoint.

"Weapons down! Let him through!" Ikora commanded, following the pair at a safe distance. The other Guardians hesitantly obeyed.

"Vell, why…why are you doing this?" Ikora asked, desperation in her voice.

"Do you not see my eyes?! I don't have a fucking choice!" Greed yelled back.

The pair worked their way slowly up the stairs and out into the open air where Daniel's sisters were still waiting. They both stood when they saw the scene. "Tarlowe!" Maya yelled, running to her brother.

"MAYA STAY BACK!" Tarlowe roared, twisting his neck to see if she obeyed.

Greed looked over at the sound of the girl's name. His nervous and frustrated face became even more distressed when he saw the two girls. Maya was paralyzed at the sight of his face.

Greed's arms started to tremble around Tarlowe's neck and he almost stopped in his retreat when he saw the girls. But he kept moving. More and more people were starting to pay attention as Greed got closer to the edge of the Tower. He stopped once his back touched the ledge. Everyone froze. It was a dead end. What was he going to do next?

Tarlowe could feel Greed's trembling became almost violent. He held his breath, in absolute fear of his life, wondering what Greed would do now. Tarlowe felt something tiny object drop onto his shoulder. It was wet.

It wasn't raining.

Tarlowe strained his neck to look at his uncle's face. Greed was crying, tears streaming down his face. Something he hadn't seen since the funerals of his parents.

Tarlowe's stomach went cold.

"Vell…"

"I'm sorry…" Greed whispered, placing his forehead against the back of Tarlowe's head. His trembling had reached its peak.

Tarlowe's fear started to rise again, "Wha-what are you planning, Vell?" No answer came from behind him.

Tarlowe suddenly felt the grip around his neck loosen and the gun dropped from the side of his head. He was suddenly shoved forward…

And a loud gunshot rang out through the air.

Tarlowe's world went black and Greed jumped over the edge of the Tower.

* * *

 _I have a love-hate relationship with cliffhangers. Hate reading them, love writing them._

 _Tell me what you think_


	17. Tarlowe and Tarlowe

_Little PSA: I can't respond to guest reviews and I cannot answer questions about possible future events in the story. Where's the fun in that?_

* * *

 _Tarlowe and Tarlowe_

* * *

"TARLOWE!" Daniel bolted forward at almost inhuman speeds, pushing through the crowd and catching his brother before he could hit the ground. Greed's mercilessness left every one present almost paralyzed.

"Medic! Somebody call a fucking medic! Hurry!" Daniel roared into the crowd. He pushed against the gun wound in his brother's lower back, trying to stop the profuse bleeding. It wasn't working. He ripped off his jacket, peeled off his shirt and quickly started to wrap it around Tarlowe's waist. His brother was getting colder and colder, his breathing more labored. Tarlowe's blood was forming a pool around them.

Maya released a horrifying screaming at the sight of the blood. She ripped herself from Aro's grip and tried to run to her brothers. "Maya! Damn it!" Aro ran to grab the hysterical little girl. Crona kept a firm grip on Christine's arm holding her back. She couldn't bring herself to move anyway.

Just as Aro caught up to Maya, a ship slowly rose into view over the ledge of the Tower. The loud roar of the engines startling Maya, allowing Aro to grab her and move her behind him. Greed was standing on top of the ship. His helmet had reappeared but his profile was burned into everyone's mind. Gluttony was with him and unlike Greed, was helmet less.

Another Guardian, a Hunter garbed in all black, kneeled silently next to them.

"That's Sloth…" Kayla whispered.

"Sloth?" Aro repeated looking from her, to the Hunter. Another Herald?

"Toland!" The Warlock turned his head at the sound of Ikora's voice and his old name.

"Ikora! It's been a while!" He yelled over the roar of the engines.

"Explain yourself, Toland! Were you the one who was calling Greed?"

"The name is Gluttony now!" He yelled, his composure regained as quickly as it was lost, " And no, I'm simply here to pick him up." he answered, nodding his head towards Greed.

What could possibly possess you to do this?!" Ikora yelled in both anger and disappointment, "What do you want and just how many more people do you plan to hurt before you get it?!"

"As many as it takes Ikora. This world and its inhabitants are past its prime anyway." He answered solemnly. Despite his facade of indifference, even he seem unsettled at Greed's brutality. "Don't worry. Ignoring the fact the Vanguard's fear and small-mindedness caused my banishment as well as my death, I bear no ill will against you. I made a deal and I am simply fulfilling my end of it."

"TOLAN-"

"Nothing personal, old friend!" He quickly interrupted her, "Just business. Cheers." he said, saluting slightly before the ship's engines started to push it away from the Tower.

There was commotion to the left of Aro and a Hunter suddenly leapt into the air; flying with an Arc Saber pointed towards the three Heralds.

Reacting in a manner opposite of his name, Sloth quickly blocked the attack with his own blade, delivering a quick but solid kick to the Hunter's abdomen. The Hunter fell back towards the Tower, twisting in mid air and landing on his feet. Undeterred, the Guardian brought out a bright gold Hand Cannon from his back, twirling it around his fingers before pointing it at the fleeing ship and Heralds. Clicking the trigger with his right while fanning the gun's hammer back with his left, the Hunter released around 8 shots, the gun firing in a rapid succession that most Hand Cannons were not capable of.

Still on the alert, Greed covered himself in the Force Barrier, and along with Sloth and his blade, used his shielded arms to deflect the bullets.

The Hunter clicked again, but nothing came from the gun. The ship finally blasted off into the air, disappearing from sight.

The medics finally arrived, swiftly carrying Tarlowe away. Daniel followed them down into the clinic only to be stopped outside the doors of the emergency operating room. All he could do now was wait.

A blue hand appeared on his shoulder. He turned around to see Shino offering him his jacket. Daniel silently took it and put it on. "Any news?" Shino asked as the others walked in.

"No." Was all he could manage.

A genuinely concerned look crossed Shino's face. Followed by a genuinely pained one. Daniel reacted just in time to keep him from dropping to the ground. Looking at the others, May and Mira were in the same state of dazed exhaustion. Daniel quickly helped him sit down as Asura and Erek helped the other two. Aro and Crona came in with his sisters. Both seemed to be in a stunned silence, staring off into nothing. Maya clasped onto Aro's arm, almost too afraid to let go. He sat down and pulled the young girl into his lap. She immediately curled into a ball, shaking slightly.

"Christine?" Shino asked with a pained groan, trying to stand and go to her. His knees buckled under his own weight and he fell back again.

Crona quickly led Christine over and sat her down next to him. Shino slowly lifted his large frame up and softly grabbed her hand. She didn't respond to his touch. She didn't respond to anything. Shino pushed himself up even more and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her, closing her off to the world. He didn't need her to respond. He just wanted her to be there.

The eleven of them sat there for several hours. There was no talking between them. Aro couldn't begin to imagine what Daniel, Christine and Maya were going through. Maya almost never moved. She may have been conversing with her Ghost but the way it looked at her showed that she probably hadn't said anything to it either. The other two were in no better condition. Daniel was unreadable at this point.

"Tarlowe Suros?"

Every in the room perked up at the name perked up at the name. Daniel quickly stood, "I'm his younger brother. Is…is he…?"

"It took a long time just to stabilize him but Tarlowe is going to live. Just from what was seen outside, he lost a lot of blood but he will live. But…extensive damage was done to his spinal cord by the bullet. It was a Guardian gun, much stronger than normal."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying he'll live but he'll be paralyzed from the waist down for a very long time. Possibly for the rest of his life." The physician paused to let her words sink in.

Daniel's heart fell into his stomach. Christine started sobbing.

"I'm sorry. We did everything we could." She said regretfully."

Daniel let out a slow shuddering breath, "Can we see him?"

"Yes but he's still unconscious. Follow me please."

She led the group to room where Tarlowe was placed. It was big enough to fit all of them. Tarlowe's usual color was gone, replaced by a sickly paleness. He was hooked up to several machines and his breathing was slow and even. Daniel slowly sat down next to the bed, just staring at his brother. Maya still held onto Aro like her life depended on it.

A knock on the door drew everyone out of their daze.

"We have a spare room for both of you. You can stay here for the night. I'll escort you." The Speaker said. "Guardians, I suggest you go home for the night. We should let the man rest."

Without a word to anyone or even his sisters, Daniel was out of the room almost immediately, drawing surprised expressions from the rest. Aro watched him go until Asura nudged his arm, "You might want to go see if he's alright."

"Are you sure? You don't need any help?"

"I can walk, Aro. Hurry."

Aro looked at him for a second longer and rushed out of the room, nodding to the Speaker as he passed him.

Aro quickly caught up to Daniel as he rushed into his room. "Daniel? Daniel!" Aro jumped through the door before it tried to grab his shoulder only to be shaken off. Daniel spun around, anger burning his dark eyes.

They just stared at each other for a long time until the rage in Daniel's eyes shifted to grief and helplessness. A strangled sob escaped him and his head fell into Aro's neck. Aro found himself wrapped in a tight embrace and he returned it on instinct.

They stood like that for a long while. Neither moved. Neither talked. What could be said to change what was done?

Daniel soon let go of him and slowly sat down onto his bed, still not saying a thing. Aro started to turn around, taking it as his cue to leave, but Daniel grabbed his arm and pulled him towards himself. He wrapped his arms around Aro's waist and placed his head softly against Aro's stomach, holding him close. He was whispering something over and over. Aro could just barely make it out.

" _Stay_." His voice cracked with emotion. Tears dampened Aro's shirt, " _Please_."

* * *

Gluttony paused in his work at the sound of a soft knock against the wall and his name. The name he hated but took on nonetheless. Names were an important thing to Guardians. Especially those given. Even if he didn't like the name, it was the one he deserved. It suit him and his actions perfectly.

He didn't need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to.

"Greed." He responded, "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Greed sat down in the chair nearest the door, "I'm fine."

"No you're not." Gluttony said, turning slightly. Greed's red eyes stood out even in the dark. "You still can't lie to me."

Greed laughed softly, standing up again and moving closer. Gluttony felt his warmth against his back and his strong hands on his shoulders, "How's Eris?"

"She's fine. The bond I gave her keeps her hidden. But I'm still having the Hive ignore her as a precaution."

"And he's…okay with this?" Greed asked disbelieving.

Gluttony shrugged, "As long as it doesn't interfere with his plans, he doesn't care about her. He doesn't see her as a threat anyway. He's absolutely sure he'll take the Sol System." He let out a short, bitter laugh, "He's earned his name."

"And you're maintaining control over them?Even the bigger ones? Telthor, Sardok and the Swarm Princes are a bit harder to control. Even with my help."

"I don't care Greed. Whatever it takes." Gluttony answered sternly, "No matter how small, if there's a chance the Guardians beat us, I want her to make it home. I need her to. She deserves more. You know that."

"I understand." Greed said, "I'm just concerned. No need to bite my head off."

The Awoken Warlock laughed. He leaned back against him. Neither talked for a few minutes. Everything had been so loud just hours before. There was nothing wrong with a little quiet. Greed continued to rub his shoulders softly.

"So is that it?" Greed asked, "The weapon you made?"

Gluttony paused in his work and then proceeded to lift the pulse rifle up. It had a dark blue frame with a skull attached to the front and the spine of an unknown creature attached to its base. _Bad Juju's_ appearance was nothing special. But what it could do made even the Vanguard fear its power.

"Yes, this is it. After all this time, it still works." Gluttony answered, "It's time around the Hive seemed to do it some good. It still fills me with power whenever I use it. My greatest accomplishment feeds my greatest vice."

Gluttony exhaled softly and then asked, "Speaking of vices…that was them, wasn't it?"

The hands on his shoulders stopped.

"Do you think Tarlowe is alright?"

The hands left, "I…Shit, I don't…I don't know."

Gluttony turned and started to stand, "Greed…"

"I shot him. I…I shot him." Greed was ran a hand through his short hair, "His father was my brother. His mother named him after me. I helped him take his first steps. Gluttony, I watched him grow up!" His voice cracked as the tears fell, "And I shot him."

"You weren't given a choice, Greed." Gluttony said, reaching out to grab his arm.

Greed roughly shook him off, "What does that change?!"

"Lower your voice."

"Why?!" Greed demanded, spreading his arms out, "He's in our heads! Making us do whatever he wants us to do! Who cares if he hears?!"

"I'm not worried about that." Gluttony said, "You were able to resist him."

"Being near the Traveler weakens his control over us. It weakens us too."

"And you took advantage of it." Gluttony said, finally grabbing him and pulling him closer.

"I don't know what you mean. I couldn't even tell Daniel about his father." Greed said softly, turning away.

"That's not what I mean." Gluttony whispered, "We all heard the command. You weren't supposed to shoot Tarlowe in his lower back, Greed. You were supposed to aim _much_ higher."

Greed didn't respond. Gluttony didn't need him to, "You're probably the only one of the seven of us who's here for a selfless reason. Don't forget that Greed. I won't."

Greed remained silent for sometime and then laughed softly, "You can still read me like a book. I always found it annoying and endearing at the same time. Probably the reason I fell for you in the first place." Greed whispered, running his hand through Gluttony's white hair.

Gluttony pointed to fingers to the door whipped them left, causing the doors to slowly close shut. "Take off your clothes."

Greed laughed slightly, pulling off his shirt, "Forward as ever. I guess that was the other reason."

* * *

 _If you're wondering about the amount of LGBT characters(there's quite a few. Some haven't been revealed yet), Destiny takes place several centuries in the future so I figured same sex relationships would be more normalized._

 _Aro and Katrina are bi. Sora, Daniel, Vell and Toland are gay. Shino has two mothers etc._

 _Anyway, tell me what you think._


	18. Shin Malphur

_Shin Malphur_

* * *

Zavala, Cayde and Ikora were all arguing in furious whispers until a knock against the wall interrupted them. It was the Hunter who tried to stop the Heralds but without his helmet. The blonde hair, pale skin and intense blue eyes were a familiar sight after a very long time away from the Tower.

"Shin Malphur." Ikora said.

"Master Ikora. Commander Zavala. Captain Cayde." He regarded them in his usual deep and respectful tone. He paused before asking, " A lot seems to have changed since I left. Would someone like to fill me in?"

A large blue hand above Shin's head pushed the door open even further, revealing Shaxx with a stern look on his face. "I'd like an explanation as well."

The Vanguard looked at each other. No one responded.

Malphur then asked, "Why was Toland up there? As well as Vell Tarlowe?"

Silence before Cayde sighed, "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"Try us." Shaxx challenged, walking in, dropping roughly into a seat and propping his dirty boots onto the table.

Another pause before Cayde said, "Alright then. We're going to need to explain this to everyone else later anyway."

All the others followed Shaxx's lead and sat down at the table.

"I have another question." Shin said, "Why was Andal Brask up there with them?"

Cayde was sure he didn't hear right, " _What?_ " Ikora, Zavala and even Shaxx were simply stunned into silence.

Shin repeated the question, "Why was Captain Andal Brask on top of the ship with Vell and Toland?"

"No, no." Cayde said, laughing slightly, "Andal Brask is _dead."_ The warning was very clear in his statement.

"So were Vell and Toland." came Shin's smooth reply, unperturbed by his outburst.

"How are you so certain that the Hunter was Brask?" Ikora asked.

"I've fought Brask before." Shin answered. He then laughed slightly, "The way he throttled me was pretty hard to forget. The second that Hunter blocked my attack, I knew exactly who it was."

"That's a pretty heavy accusation Shin." Zavala pointed out, "We're going to need more than speculation to go on it."

"Wait, what exactly is he accusing Brask of?" Shaxx asked, "What is going on Zavala? Start from the beginning."

Zavala looked between the other Vanguards before exhaling, "Fine."

"About a year and a half ago, a Ghost found and revived a Human male in the Cosmodrome. The Guardian now goes by the name Arochukwu. Aro for short. He's currently a Rank 2 Warlock and the leader of a fireteam consisting of a Hunter revived in India named Asura and my daughter."

"I've heard of Asura and Arochukwu."

"Since the very first night since he's been alive, Aro has been plagued by a nightmare." Ikora continued, "Asura suffers from a split personality."

"Nightmare?" Malphur asked.

"Yes. Nightmare. One. The same one over and over again. Pitch blackness with the screams of unidentifiable creatures around him. The only thing visible are seven pairs of red eyes. Also unidentifiable." Ikora said, "A disembodied voice soon screams, "The Gate is Risen." And the creatures proceed to tear him apart."

"Warlocks and their dreams always mean trouble for the rest of us." Shaxx said, "No offense, Master."

She smiled, "None taken. As a matter of fact, I agree."

"So what is this Gate exactly?"

"This is just speculation." Zavala said, "But we believe it's what allows the Darkness to move so quickly. It was never first detected until it appeared outside our solar system."

"So a Gate originally brought it here?" Shin asked, "What does it have to do with Aro? Is he the key?"

"We believe he may just not be the key. He may also be the door itself. Those seven pairs of red eyes? They call themselves Heralds. And from what we know now, they are all former Guardians."

"Toland, Vell and possibly Andal are…"

"Yes. Their job is to protect the Gate and prepare for its opening. Once open, the Darkness will take this world. As it has done many times to many other worlds before."

"That is where Asura comes in." Cayde said, "That split personality of his? Yeah, It calls itself Wrath. We didn't want to believe it before but the mounting evidence is becoming impossible to ignore. We believe Asura was a Herald who is responsible for the destruction of a planet. We don't know where, we don't know when and we don't know how he ended up on Earth in India."

"Has this Wrath made its presence known? How are we sure he isn't a threat?"

"He has and…we're not. Wrath has taken over Asura's body multiple times. And each time for extended periods. The first time he manifested, he attempted to kill Aro. Based on the information from Spirit, Asura's Ghost, the latest time was today on the Moon."

"So he is a threat?" Shaxx said.

Zavala sighed, "We don't know. But he's also a Guardian. There is Light inside him. And the memories Asura has been able to access have been a boon to our efforts on uncovering the truth about the Heralds. We figured our best option is to keep him here until we can purge him of Wrath once and for all."

Shaxx exhaled, "A portal of Darkness and a former Herald of the end of the world." He chuckled , "I don't envy your daughter, Zavala. How is she holding up?"

"I've been meaning to ask that myself." His tone became solemn, "Her just being around them is dangerous."

Shin then asked, "When you called Toland by his name, Ikora, he corrected you. Name's are important things to Guardians. Why would he just change his to Gluttony?"

Ikora sighed and her shoulders dropped, "From the Thanatonauts, the Cryptarchs and my Hidden have gathered, we now know that the idea of the seven deadly sins in man are not unique to man. All we know is their names have something to do with the state of mind they were in when they died as well as the reason they chose to become Heralds."

"So is there another Wrath?"

"Yes. The Titan Kabr."

Shaxx laughed loudly, "Ha! The Darkness recognizes power when it sees it!"

"Toland is Gluttony. Vell is Greed. We don't know the Hunter's identity." Cayde said, " _Neither of their identities_." he finished, giving Malphur a pointed look. Shin simply flashed a smile in return.

He then asked, "Who are the other Heralds, Master Ikora?"

"We know Gluttony is Toland. Greed is Vell. The current Wrath is Kabr. We don't know the Hunter's current identity-"

" _Neither!"_ Cayde corrected. Ikora simply shot him an annoyed look, "And Lust is…" she paused, unsure of how to continue.

Sometime passed before Malphur looked down at the table, his eyes unreadable, "Dredgen Yor. He's Lust, isn't he?"

"Yes." She simply said, "He is."

Shaxx seemed slightly unsettled by the revelation. Besides seeming deep in thought, Shin was unreadable. He then bowed his head slightly, "Thank you, sirs. You have my word that I will not tell anyone and I'll do whatever I can to help defeat this threat." With a final nod to Shaxx, Shin quietly left the room.

Ikora and Cayde soon left as well, deciding to come to a decision on what to tell the public later. Once alone, Zavala asked, "What if Malphur is right, Zavala? What if Captain Andal Brask is one of the Heralds?"

"Then I really don't envy you?" Shaxx answered, laughing at his own joke.

"This is serious."

"So am I. So…" Shaxx paused before continuing, "If they turn out to be one and the same, your son and his wife. Will you tell them?"

Zavala ran a hand over his shaved head, "I don't know. I really don't. I don't want to cause Akira anymore grief. Andal's death was debilitating for her. Her only solace was that he found peace But this…this, Shaxx, this could break her."

* * *

 _Took such a long time to come up with a good name for Akira Brask._


	19. Eren

_Eren_

* * *

Aro violently jerked awake, tumbling out of the bed and hitting the ground. He quickly scrambled for the bathroom and collapsed in front of the toilet, heaving into the bowl. He couldn't bring himself to eat the night before. Nothing came up. He fell back against the wall, wiping the tears from his eyes and gasping for air, struggling to calm his nerves.

But he couldn't. He could still feel the monsters clawing at him. Trying to rip him apart.

Kain flew into the bathroom. He was still on the ground.

"The nightmares are back, aren't they?"

Head in his hands, Aro simply nodded. They were back. And they had never felt more real. He found himself rubbing his sides and back, as if expecting to find deep claw marks etched into him. The red eyes were always there. Seven pairs. Seven Heralds. Before, only three faces could be made out of the seven. Now it was four. Vell Tarlowe. A fifth form could be made out of the featureless black humanoids. But not a face. He guessed it was because he hasn't seen Sloth's face.

Two were still hidden. He couldn't begin to imagine just how powerful they might be.

Aro stood up and leaned over the sink, splashing cold water in his face. He looked up into the mirror to see Daniel standing up, wearing a tired but concerned expression.

"Are you alright?"

Aro nodded, "I'm fine." His shaking said otherwise, "I'm sorry I woke you."

Daniel let out a tired breath, "I never really went to sleep."

Neither said anything after that. They shared the sink to get ready for the day. The sun was just coming up and movement could be heard outside the doors. As much as Aro wanted to not interact with others today, he had things he needed to do.

Daniel had simply put on a shirt in that time, sitting on the bed and absent-mindedly staring at the ground. Aro moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder, "I have to go. Will you be alright?"

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yeah." he whispered.

Knowing he was lying but deciding to leave it alone, Aro started to turn until he was stopped. Daniel suddenly pulled him closer and kissed him. Aro was surprised but didn't push him away. It lasted only a few seconds but it felt like they had been standing there for days.

Eyes wide, Daniel quickly backed up and turned away to avoid having his suddenly crimson face seen. "Thanks…thanks for staying." he muttered quickly. If Aro could muster the energy, he would have laughed.

He managed a small smile, "Go be with your sisters. I'll see you later." The door closed and Aro slowly moved through the living room before leaving the dorm.

* * *

He had barely been gone a day from the Tower but it felt like years. He kept going until the Tower Plaza came into view. Kain appeared over his shoulder, "Those engrams we found in the Cosmodrome. What do you think they are?"

Aro's mind flashed back to the Divide, "Don't know. Be a surprise if they were anything useful." He shrugged, "I'm not really concerned about that."

"Ah yes. The library."

Aro's tone became somber, "Maybe if I can read up on who Gluttony and the others were before they were Heralds, I can locate a moment in their lives that turned them into what they are now."

"Assuming we find anything." His Ghost pointed out.

"Well the other option is direct interrogation." Aro's eyes lowered. He spoke softer, "And you know how that went."

Kain remained quiet before breaking away from Aro towards Master Rahool's tent. With his presence at the Tower practically being a necessity, it was a surprise that he didn't demand more.

"Ah. Arochukwu." Master Rahool said, turning away from the frame he was talking to. "It's good to see you. I can always rely on you and your team for a challenge."

Aro smiled genuinely, "No pressure."

"None at all." The old Awoken laughed. The blue and green engrams appeared on Rahool's desk. Aro watched people walk by as Master Rahool got work. He could see it in the faces of the other Guardians or in the case of the Exos, how they acted. Many were still haunted by the events the day before. They would move to avoid the spot where Tarlowe Suros had almost been killed, lying in a growing pool of his own blood.

"Still thinking about it too?"

The Cryptarch's voice drew him from his trance. Aro didn't speak. He simply nodded.

"The Suros boy. Will he be alright?"

Aro nodded again, "Yes. But he'll be paralyzed from the waist down. Most likely for life."

Rahool shook his head, "It's a shame. And by the hand of Guardians no less. I knew Vell. and I knew Toland as well. You remind me of him sometimes."

Aro turned slightly to look at the Awoken, surprised at the observation.

"At least you remind me of the original Toland. Not the traitor up there. Maybe you can be who he was supposed to be. And not a monster."

Aro sighed. " _It maybe already too late for that."_ he thought inside his head. Neither spoke further.

"There. Done." Rahool held up a small Hand Cannon. Kain proceeded to scan it, "Rank 2. Pretty weaker than everything else we have. Would make good scrap material though."

Aro took the gun from Rahool, "The second one?"

"Well that one wasn't a weapon." Rahool started.

"Piece of armor then?"

"Not that either." He held up a small bronze disc with an emerald green center and let it drop into Aro's palm. It vibrated slightly and was warm to touch. Aro had never seen anything like it.

"They're called Strange Coins. Do you remember Xur?"

"Yes?"

"Well he takes them for some reason. Bring enough and you can get yourself a weapon or piece of armor."

"Really?" The coin disappeared as he closed his hand, "How strong?"

"Rank 5. Nothing less."

Aro's eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. He's pretty sought after. Appears randomly at the Tower and usually disappears two days later."

The coin disappeared as Kain took it up, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

Beneath his hood, Rahool's orange eyes brightened in a smile, "I'd say come back before I get bored. But after yesterday, I'm sure we could all use a little boredom."

Aro smiled back, "Right as always. I'll see you soon."

 _*12 hours later*_

Aro was jerked from sleep by a rough hand. He rubbed his eyes before looking to see Mira frowning down at him.

"Mira." Aro yawned, "Is something wrong?"

"We need to talk. All of us."

She said nothing further before starting to walk out of the Archives. "Kain, put these back. I've got to go." He said before quickly catching up.

"Maya and Christine went home today." Mira told him once he caught up.

His face fell, "Oh. I was hoping to see them. Tarlowe?"

"Same state. They haven't told anyone when they plan to wake him." She stopped outside her own dorm, letting the door slide open. The rest of her team were there. Crona, Asura, Kayla and Daniel were in chairs scattered across the main area. Erek was simply leaning against the wall.

"What is this?" Aro asked once inside. Mira followed and the door locked behind him.

"It's about Greed. And apparently a "Gluttony" too." Mira said, "You six know something. So start talking."

"As I said before, we are under Vanguard orders to not speak of this to anyone." Crona said.

"Greed almost killed us as well as Tarlowe. Screw orders." Shino said in an aggravated tone, "We're not leaving without an explanation."

"Do you think you're the only ones-

"Crona." Aro interrupted. She turned to look at him. She didn't like going against her father's orders. But they were right. They deserved to know. As did Sora, Katrina and Jessie when the time came.

"Fine. We'll tell you everything."

* * *

"Dark Guardians…kind of hard to believe." Mira said tiredly. She was obviously still worn from the day before, "If I hadn't almost been killed by one, I wouldn't believe you."

"And a portal for the Darkness? You think it's inside you?" Shino asked.

"I know it is. The Heralds are here to make sure it stays safe until they can open it."

"And once they do…"

"This war is over. We've lost."

"How many are they?" May asked.

"Between all of us, we've met five. Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth…"Asura answered before hesitating, "And Wrath."

"And you were one of these things Asura?" Mira asked.

"Yes. It was my memories that convinced the Vanguard to send you to the World's Grave."

Shino clenched his fist in anger, "What could possess someone to do something like this? Vell and Kabr. I had heard so much about them. I looked up to them."

"Same." Daniel muttered softly.

"So Sloth's former identity is the only one we don't know?" May asked.

"Sloth and Lust." Erek corrected.

Crona frowned, "No…Lust's identity is known. He's Dredgen Yor."

"What?" Erek said, not sure he heard right. He paused in his pacing. When no one responded, he asked, "Lust is Dredgen Yor?"

No one spoke. Everyone seemed confused by his question. Except Kayla and Daniel. They simply looked guilty.

"ANSWER ME!" he roared suddenly, his face flushing.

"You didn't know?" Aro asked quietly. This was the first time he had ever seen him angry. Let alone enraged.

"No! For the last year, I've been under the impression, we didn't know who he was! I was never told!" He turned an accusing look onto his team, "Were you?"

Kayla quietly looked away. Daniel didn't respond.

"You were…" he snarled and started running his hands through his black hair. He let out a shuddering breath, "How long have you known?"

"Erek, calm down-" Mira started.

"HOW LONG?!"

"Since Aro, Crona and Asura met them. In the Devil's Lair." Daniel finally said.

Erek laughed bitterly, "You knew this whole time and you didn't tell me. You didn't tell me that motherfucker was still alive! The Vanguard and the Speaker are probably in on it too, aren't they?"

"There was never a good time…" Kayla started.

"IT'S BEEN A YEAR! THERE HAVE BEEN PLENTY OF TIMES!"

"You need to calm down." Daniel said, slowly standing.

"Don't you dare start telling me what to fucking do." He growled. "You knew what Yor took from me and you still keep this from me? You still get to be angry at the fact Vell-no, _Greed_ never told you how your father died but you have the nerve expect me to just be ok with this?!"

"Leave Vell and my fucking father out of this Erek." Daniel warned, large hands balling into fists. Crona moved between them, trying to push the two men apart.

Erek simply laughed, "There you go again! Telling me what to do!" he yelled. He stormed towards the door before stopping, "You're only give me orders on the field. Off the field, I don't have to do a goddamn thing you say." He paused, "You're not my master. You're not even my friend." he said softly. He turned his glowing blue eyes to Kayla, who still couldn't bring herself to look him, "Neither of you are."

He took one last look around the room and corrected himself once more, "None of you are."

The room went quiet when he left.

"What the hell just happened?!" Mira yelled, gesturing towards the door.

"That's...a very good question…"Crona remarked.

Kayla didn't answer. She just sat down. Everything kept piling on top of each other and everyone was tired.

"Kayla." May said softly, "Please tell us what happened."

"You all know Erek wasn't resurrected like some of us were. He was born."

"Yes?" Asura urged her to continue, sitting backwards in a chair.

"He wasn't born on Earth. Erek is Reefborn, like Commander Zavala. He moved here around 6 years ago."

Nothing new. "What made him leave?" Aro asked.

"He won't tell us. But he didn't come alone. He came with someone else. A girl he loved.

Aro's heart started to sink. He knew where this was going…

"They lived together in the City for about a year when…"

"She died." Shino whispered.

"She was killed. By Dredgen Yor." Kayla affirmed.

The faces across the room ranged from saddened to horrified. Shino rubbed his face, cursing under his breath.

"He could do nothing to stop him. Erek wasn't a Guardian just yet. Dredgen Yor or Lust, I guess he's called now, went insane and killed Pahanin, Thalor, Jaren Ward and several civilians, including Erek's girlfriend."

She was silent for a minute to let the others absorb her words and then continued, "His life fell to pieces after that. He came down with depression and still suffers from it. Under that mask of cheerfulness…is just anger, grief and guilt. Guilt at his inability to save her as he watched the light leave her eyes. He reached his limit two years after. He was nearly homeless and dealing with severe mental issues. He took the last of his money…and bought a gun."

Crona slightly gasped, "He almost…"

"He did…", Kayla said softly. "But the gun clicked empty. His Ghost had shown up at the last second to claim him as a Guardian and removed the bullets from the gun before he could do it. It spent hours talking and listening to him, convincing him to come to the Tower and change his life around so that what happened before doesn't happen to anyone else."

Everyone lowered their heads in shame and regret. They never knew someone so cheerful was fully prepared to take his own life not too long ago. No one ever bothered to ask. They were all too wrapped in their own problems.

"In gratitude, he named his Ghost after the one other person in his life who could light his dark places. But he still blames himself. He probably always will." Kayla finished.

The dorm was silent again until May stood, "I'm going to go talk to him."

"I'll come with you." Daniel said, standing as well.

"May…" Mira said, a sad look on her face.

"I know how he feels, Mira. To blame yourself for something you couldn't help? I've known for a long time what that's felt like."

* * *

The Tower was empty for the night. Just like he liked it. Erek had snuck into his usual place, in the usually sealed off Traveler's Walk, facing the mountains. He sat on the ledge, legs dangling over the edge. The wind blew through his hair. Every once in a while, he still had the urge to jump off. He knew he would live. Eren wouldn't let him go that easy. Neither of them would.

His hands started shaking.

"I thought I had gotten past this…fuck." the shaking hand covered his eyes, tears starting to form. He had come so far. He thought he was almost over it.

His Ghost floated in front of his face, "You've gotten this far before. Relapse is normal in people with what you have. They were just looking out for you, Erek."

"Yor took her away. The last person I had left in this world." he mumbled.

"You have a family. Back at the Reef." Eren pointed out.

"Those bastards are _not_ my family." he growled.

"Well if not them, then your family here."

Erek felt his anger rise again, wanting to inflict the same insult on the others. But he couldn't. He just didn't respond. Just stared at the mountains. His anger started to rise again and this time, tears fell down his face. He released a strangled sob. His Ghost turned around to face him.

"What did I do to him? What did I do to anyone to ever deserve this?!" He yelled. He didn't care who heard. The Ghost didn't respond. It didn't know how.

"The only solace I ever had in life was that he was dead. That he paid for what he did. To all the people he hurt." he continued, quieter, "Now I find out he's been given another chance to take my entire world from me. As if he already hasn't."

Eren still kept quiet.

"It should have been me. I convinced her to leave her life behind and come with me. I put her in danger, Eren! It should have been me!" He was now rocking dangerously on the edge.

Eren still didn't respond. Neither talked for a few minutes until footsteps behind him caught his attention. Erek sighed.

"…What do you two want?"

Daniel came up and sat next to him, swinging his legs over the ledge. A bottle of alcohol in his hands and Caesar floating over his shoulder. May sat down a second later, "Just wanted to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Are you sure? You had plenty to say before you saw us." May said to him, "Kayla's a bit torn up about this so I decided to come with Daniel."

Erek didn't respond.

"Kayla and I, both know we should told you before. We argued about it for days." He took a drink from the bottle and held it out to Erek.

Erek looked at the bottle before taking it, "Where the hell did you get this?"

"The bar is still open. Spent my entire reward from the last mission on this, so we're not leaving until it's finished." he gave a dry smile.

Erek humorously shook his head. Daniel continued, "We wanted to tell you. Almost everyday. But you were making amazing strides from when we first met you. We just wanted you in a better place mentally."

Erek's anger softened, just a little, "That's no excuse."

"Is it not?" Daniel asked, "You tend to get… rash when you're angry and it's obvious the Heralds have a vested interest in us because of our connection to Aro. You would have gone crazy if you saw him, knowing who he was."

"Would I be at fault?" He retorted.

"If you died, yes because you probably would have tried to kill him, knowing damn well we can't. Katrina blew off his fucking head. He grew it right back. And Sloth? We didn't even touch him."

"Is there a point to this lecture?"

"Yes." May answered, "As well as an observation. You still blame yourself for what he did."

"Why shouldn't I, May? I brought her into this."

"I'm pretty sure you didn't willing come here know a Guardian was about to go on a killing spree. You blame yourself so you feel you have something to make up for.

Again, Erek didn't respond.

"I came for another reason Erek." May continued, "To tell you a story. I know what you're going through."

"I'm listening." Erek said quietly.

May took a deep breath and started, "Mira wasn't always the leader of our fireteam. That title used to belong to a recently revived Exo Warlock named Marie."

"The same name as your Ghost." Erek said quietly. She nodded, looking off at the mountains.

"I was still dead. In the Ocean of Storms. Master Ikora believes I was one of the immigrants from the Reef sometime before the City's creation that crashed on the Moon. Shino, Mira and Marie spent the usual six months training and were soon sent to Earth on a routine patrol mission. Nothing complicated."

"How did they get to you on the Moon if they were Rank 1's?" Daniel asked.

"Just as they were preparing to leave, my Ghost showed up, asking for help getting to the Moon. It changed its mind after Marie told them they didn't have permission to go to the Moon but Marie insisted anyway. Marie disobeyed orders to make sure I could be found and had a way home."

"They landed on the Moon and my Ghost led them into one of the Hive temples inside the Hellmouth. It found me. But the sudden burst of Light alerted the Hive to our location and they attacked. Marie let me borrow a weapon but we just weren't strong enough to take them all down. They were about to catch me. They were about to kill me again. She…" Tears were glistening in her eyes, "She sacrificed herself by destroying the ceiling of the chamber, dropping it on their heads…and her own. Her Ghost was destroyed in the fight."

"I didn't learn her name until we got to the ships. When Mira and Shino went before the Vanguard, Zavala thought to punish them but didn't." The tears fell softly, "He said they had been punished enough."

She wiped her eyes, "It took years before I stopped blaming myself or stopped thinking that Mira and Shino blamed me. But every now and then…"

"Maya admitted to us sometime ago that that's how she felt about our mom. I can't help but feel that Ve…" Daniel paused, " _Greed_ felt the same way about my dad."

"I don't fight because I want revenge for her Erek. I fight because I want to carry on her memory. She wanted to help lead humanity to a new Golden Age. She can't realize that dream anymore so I will for her. It's the least I can do to tell her thank you."

Erek didn't say anything. He couldn't bring himself to.

"We're going to kill that monster. Believe me." May turned around and hopped off the ledge, "But don't let Lust's actions drive you to hatred. You're stronger than that, Erek. I know you are."

She quickly hugged him from behind. He didn't respond to her touch. He just stared aimlessly at the mountains, taking in her words.

Daniel started to follow her before saying, "And as rough as I am on you and despite the stupid arguments we get into…I hate seeing you as anything but happy. You and Kayla mean the world to me. I don't say it a lot but you need to know that."

Erek could barely manage a "Thank you." His throat was tight.

Daniel stuck his hand out to help him off the ledge and pulled him into a rough hug. "Go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow. The Heralds, the Gate, we'll get through all of this." May hugged him again and this time he returned it, wrapping his arms around the girl who could barely reach his neck.

He chuckled, "You're so short."

"Shut up."

"You can barely reach my shoulders."

"Don't make me ruin this moment by setting you on fire." she said, still hugging him. He snorted and they parted. Both Daniel and May left. With one last look at the mountains, Erek left as well.

* * *

Aro heard a knock on the door. Asura had already went off to sleep and Aro couldn't fall so he might as well answer it.

"Daniel-" he silenced him with a kiss. Aro could taste the alcohol on his breath until he broke away

Breathing hard, he asked, "Erek?"

"He'll be fine." Daniel said, pressing his forehead against Aro's.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"What about you?"

Daniel held his head in his hands and whispered, "I'll be fine too."

* * *

 _Erek's Theme is "This Beautiful and Cruel World" by_ _Yōko Hikasa_

 _Or the song SNK uses to slow your heart rate down_

 _Tell me what you think._


	20. (No) Hard Feelings

_(No) Hard Feelings_

* * *

 _*Three weeks later*_

"HAHAHAAA!" Asura had to stop himself from falling off the bar stool. Unable to hold it back any longer, Crona began laughing too.

"Are you done?" Aro asked, downing another drink.

"NO!" he was almost yelling, "I can't believe you blew both yourself and the other guy up!"

"I didn't know what else to do!"

"I don't know why you're so angry." Crona said, turning in her chair.

"Yeah, cheer up!" Asura said, clapping him on the back, "We won! Our first Crucible match!"

Aro allowed himself a small smile after rubbing the spot where Asura's metal hand had hit him. Lord Shaxx had finally gotten his hands on them. An elimination match like the one between Team Mira's and Katrina's and it came down to just him and a Hunter whose name he didn't know. Whoever he was, he had Arc Blade down easily. Aro could barely release a Solar grenade without exhausting himself.

Both Asura and Crona were down, Shaxx was screaming in his ear and an angry combination of lightning and metal was speeding towards him. Blowing up the place seemed like a good idea at the time. He was surprised he survived.

Another drink was placed in front of him, "Didn't think you'd still be using that "double gun" style." he said to Asura.

"I prefer "twin guns". Much better ring to it."

"They look nothing alike!" Crona argued.

"Well "fraternal twin guns" doesn't roll off the tongue right."

Crona opened her mouth to speak further but stopped, staring at something behind Aro. He turned to see just what she was staring at.

A man was standing behind him. A blonde haired Human who was as tall as Aro with a lean frame. Either his eyes were his most striking feature or the fact that he never made a sound coming up to them.

"Um, Shin!" Crona finally said. Almost like she just realized she was staring, "I didn't know you had gotten back."

"Crona." his stoic face broke out into a small smile. It didn't reach his eyes, "You've grown."

She broke eye contact with him and let out a single breathy snort, "Well it has been a while. And Father's training will do that, as I'm sure you're aware."

 _"Is it just me or is she blushing?"_ Aro asked his Ghost, watching the exchange.

" _She's blushing, heart rate's increased, temperature has risen. She's doing everything you do around Daniel."_

The man smiled again. This time it seemed genuine, "You make a good point. But while it is good to see you, you wouldn't mind if I had a small talk with Arochukwu, would you?"

"Um, no." She looked surprised. And slightly disappointed, "Go ahead."

Without another word, Shin started to walk out. Aro took another look at Crona, who simply shrugged, before quickly following the Hunter out.

Heading up a small stairway, Shin led him to the far side of the Hangar, where the frames could be seen working on ships through the grating. After a half a minute watching them work, he said, "I know who you are Aro, but do you know who I am, Aro? Or at least what I've done? He seemed genuinely inquisitive.

"You killed Dredgen Yor."

He chuckled, "I believe he goes by a new name nowadays."

What he said didn't register with Aro at first. Shin could see the realization hit him, "The Vanguard has informed me of everything. The Heralds, current and former. And the Gate."

"Then why did you want to talk to me?"

Shin paused for a few seconds before saying, "You're the Gate. A portal to Darkness. That means an end to humanity, am I wrong?"

"No…you're not."

"Well the Vanguard can't seem to think of a way to solve this problem. I can Arochukwu." Shin maintained direct eye contact with him while he spoke, "The Vanguard either have not come to my conclusion or cannot bring themselves to do what should be done. I choose to believe the latter. They didn't become commanders of their own classes by being stupid, Aro."

Aro couldn't respond, so Shin turned to look at the ships again and continued, "You…and your former Herald teammate are Guardians now. Whether you accept it or not, your first priority is the City's safety. The Fallen. The Hive. The Vex and Cabal are all threats to us. Pretty big ones too."

He turned back and when he did, his two eyes were glowing orange. Wisps of flames flew out from them before disappearing into nothing.

"But it seems the biggest threats are right here. One right in front of me and the other downstairs."

Aro didn't respond. He didn't know how to.

"Do not get me wrong Aro. This is not a threat and you can count on me as an ally and maybe even a friend. But I learned my lesson on not acting soon enough. When I didn't, a lot of people were hurt, Arochukwu. You've been here for some time. I know you have people you care about. Do you see where I'm coming from?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

Malphur could read him like a book, "Do you know someone he's killed?"

"Someone important to my friend. I never got to meet her."

"I'm sorry to hear that." he sounded genuine.

"Again, I'm not threatening you." He continued, raising his hands. "But if it ever does come to that, and I truly hope it doesn't, I want there to be no surprises. The City comes first, Arochukwu. Do you understand?

Aro sighed and looked away, "I understand."

"Good. I'm glad." Shin said. He stuck out his hands and after some hesitation, Aro shook it. With a firm clap on his shoulder, Shin moved past him and quickly disappeared from sight. Kain appeared.

"That was…"

"Interesting?" Aro finished for him.

"And slightly scary."

Aro sighed, "Let's head back." He prepared to start walking when he felt an unnerving presence behind him, causing him to suddenly spin around.

What he saw was much more unnerving.

A hooded figure robed in pitch black, the closest thing to color being the small silver buckle of its belt. The hood did not cover its face and yet it couldn't be seen, only small dark green tendrils floating out from the hood, as if gravity was of little consequence. The creature had unblinking featureless yellow eyes.

And they were aimed directly at him.

The creature said nothing in response to Aro noticing him but instead continued to stare up at him.

"Wh-who are you?" Aro asked, trying to silence his nerves.

"I am Xûr. Agent of the Nine."

" _So this is the Xûr everyone's been talking about_." Kain said, "I apologize for his abruptness Xur. We did not know you were there." The Ghost finished out loud.

"I am only seen when the Nine wish it."

Aro then hesitantly asked, "How much did you hear Xur?"

After a long pause, Xur said, "I did not need to hear anything, Arochukwu. I know exactly who and _what_ you are."

" _He knows my name_." He thought. "How?" he asked out loud.

"You will find out soon enough. But you will need my help. And I will give it. For the right price." And without another word, Xur disappeared in a manner that made Aro wonder if he imagined the whole conversation.

"Aro!" a feminine voice called out. He turned around to have Amanda clap him on the shoulder. She saw his face and became concerned, "Something wrong? I didn't startle you did I?"

Aro shook his head and smiled, "No. Just tired."

She laughed, "Well head home. Crona and Asura decided to wait for you there."

"Oh." Aro frowned, "Didn't even finish my drink."

"Yeah you did." She burped in his face, "See you around!"

Aro laughed, "Drinking on the job? Amanda, I thought you were more professional than that!" He called out as she walked away.

"You thought!"

Aro laughed again before walking out of the Hangar. " _Kain what do you think Xur meant by he knows?"_

 _"There's only one thing to know, Aro."_

 _"Yes but how?!"_

 _"Xur's from the Jovian planets, past the Reef. Which I don't even think the Light reaches. Who knows what he can do. But from his words, it seems like he's on our side."_

 _"I hope so. We'd better be on the lookout for those Strange Coins then. We should tell the others too."_

Aro got to his door. Asura was in his usual spot on the couch but Crona was out of uniform, fixing her hair in a mirror near the front door.

"Going somewhere?"

"Daniel asked me to help him with something." Crona answered simply.

"How long will you be gone? We've all got to talk. About…"

She took a look at him, "Well he didn't tell me what we're doing so I'm not sure when I'll be back. We'll talk tonight or tomorrow."

* * *

"What do you mean you haven't talked to your brother yet?" Crona asked in disbelief. They continued down the path to his home.

"Well he just woke up." Daniel shot back, getting defensive.

"A week ago!"

"I've been busy!"

"Oh well, I'm sure that excuses everything." Crona quipped sarcastically.

"I didn't bring you here to get on my nerves." Daniel growled.

"Erek asked me to fill in for him." she said, smiling. After a few seconds of smiling at her, he couldn't help but smile as well.

They reached the door and the smiles disappeared. Daniel stood like a statue for a long time until Crona suddenly grabbed his keys, pushed past him and open the door, much to his vocal disapproval.

A familiar tan skinned, brown haired woman was standing in front of the door and turned around at the sound of it opening, "Crona!"

"Akira?"

"Crona?" Z came from around a corner, carrying a sleeping Trey. He saw Daniel and his face hardened, "And Daniel."

"What are you two doing here?" Daniel asked, stepping inside.

"We heard what had happened. We wanted to pay Tarlowe a visit. See how he's holding up." Akira answered.

"Someone had to." Z added nonchalantly.

Daniel scowled, "What the hell does that mean?"

"Keep quiet!" Z whispered harshly. "I just got the boy to sleep." Daniel was already bridling but obeyed. Z took after his mother in terms of demeanor but he was still his father's son.

Daniel released an angry breath, "Where is he?"

Z handed the sleeping child off to his wife, "Your brother's upstairs. Follow me."

Z started up the stairs and Daniel followed. Crona shared a quick worried look at Akira before following.

"Tarlowe?" Z called, knocking softly on the door, "Daniel and Crona are here." The door slid open. Both Christine and Maya had turned at the sound of his name.

In the bed, Tarlowe could only turn his head slightly.

Without a word, Maya stood and ran Daniel, embracing him. After a few seconds, Christine stood and did the same.

Tarlowe let out a labored breath, "So you came."

"How are you?"

"What do you think?" the sarcasm was biting. Daniel didn't respond.

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, Tarlowe asked, "Why was Vell in the Tower, Daniel? I know you know."

"Vell?" Akira asked, "As in Vell Tarlowe?"

Crona grimaced. No one else was supposed to know about this.

Daniel found his voice, "I can't answer."

Tarlowe's eyes narrowed angrily, "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means I have my orders." He could barely be heard.

Tarlowe suddenly shot up, his hand wrapped in Daniel's shirt. Z stood and placed a hand behind his back to support him. Daniel looked away, eyes clenched shut.

"I just saw my uncle. The man who I was named after. The last man who saw my father alive. The man I thought was dead, alive and well in the Tower. And the first thing he does is shoots me in the fucking back!" he stopped to grab his side, groaning in pain. Daniel still refused to meet his eyes.

Z was still holding him up, "You need to calm down, Tarlowe."

Tarlowe ignored him, "He shot me in the back, Daniel. Look at me." When Daniel didn't respond, he roared, "LOOK AT ME!" Daniel finally did. Tarlowe had tears in his eyes. Whether from pain or despair, he didn't know.

His voice was shaking, "Do you see the state I'm in? I can barely lift myself up. I may never walk again. You have all the answers I'm looking for so I can have some semblance of closure in my life…and you won't tell me?"

Daniel remained silent. Simply stared into the dark brown eyes that looked too much like his own and his father's.

"Fine." Tarlowe let go of his shirt, "Get out."

"…What?" Daniel asked, not sure if he heard right.

"Get…out."

"You're kicking me out?! This is my home!"

"Since when?! You're never here!" Tarlowe yelled back, despite the pain it caused him. "You have to be reminded to come see your sisters. You barely even check up on either of them! You weren't around when I woke up and nowhere to be found when I was brought home. And for what reason?!"

Daniel opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out.

Tarlowe had his answer, "That's what I thought. I understand the City's safety is of utmost importance but I figured that we were still somewhere on your list of priorities. I figured wrong."

Crona opened her mouth to speak up but a stern look from Z warned her not to interfere.

Daniel said nothing further. It was silent for a few minutes until crying could be heard from outside the room. The yelling and the sudden thunderstorm had woken Trey.

Jaw clenched, Daniel calmly walked over to the desk and placed his key without making a sound. Without looking at anyone, he quickly walked out of the room and out of the house.

Crona took a look back at Tarlowe, who looked to be in a lot of pain. Z was helping him slowly lower himself back down, talking to him softly. "Akira, could you check on the girls before you leave? Just make sure their okay." she pleaded.

"Of course." Giving her a quick hug, Crona ran out after Daniel.

Just a few seconds out in the storm left Crona drenched. But it storm didn't even seem to phase Daniel. He had put some distance between himself and the house.

"Daniel?! DANIEL!" he kept walking, pretending not to hear her over the roaring winds. She finally caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder. He spun around, his mouth a hard line and his brown eyes bright with anger.

"You won't tell them. Then tell me." Crona said, "Why did you wait so long to go see him?"

His eyes softened, "I wasn't ready to see him like this, Crona." he whispered after a few seconds, turning away, "God, I fucked up, I know that. But I wasn't ready. I brought you because I couldn't face him alone."

* * *

 _So on a less depressing note, John Boyega would make the perfect Arochukwu. Just add about 5 inches to his height. (Aro's 6'2 or 1.88 meters)_


	21. Always Seven

_Long one for you guys_

 _*Cayde's voice*, "Heh, there's a joke in there somewhere."_

* * *

 _Always Seven_

Aro's eyes fluttered open and snapped shut after getting an eyeful of the sun. He began to rise out of bed to stretch, almost forgetting the other person practically fused to him, snoring like a beast. Daniel had come stomping in from the rain, dripping wet and tracking water and mud on the ground, much to Asura's annoyance.

After calming down and showering, he told Aro about what had happened when he went to visit his brother. Aro let him stay the night. Nothing happened unlike after the situation with Erek. He found himself groaning internally at the memory. He really needed to get up or he might never leave.

"Daniel?" he started trying to pull out of his embrace, "Daniel, I gotta go."

"No." he groaned, squeezing tighter. Aro simply started pulling away harder only for Daniel's arm to suddenly snap tighter, pulling Aro in like he weighed nothing.

" _Fucking Titans."_ He flinched when Daniel's calloused fingers started drawing circles on his stomach. He started fidgeting and pulling again, becoming uncomfortable with Daniel's touching. He enjoyed it, yes, but it was his enjoyment that was making him uncomfortable.

Daniel simply laughed and finally let go, "What's on the schedule today?" he yawned.

Aro started for the bathroom,"As far as I know, weapons tuning."

"Doesn't sound like an all day affair." Daniel entered the bathroom after him, "You don't have an extra brush?"

"I can go get yours." His Ghost chirped, promptly disappearing. Daniel was content to splash water in his face for the time being.

Aro started laughing to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing." Aro shook his head, "I was just thinking."

"Well stop it."

"Anyway I was just thinking about how normal this all seems. I'm not used to it."

Daniel laughed too, "It's nice isn't it? Well at least sort of."

Aro started to get dressed, "You should talk to your brother."

"He doesn't want me around."

"He didn't ban you from going to the house. You just can't live there anymore."

"Same shit."

Silence followed for a few minutes until he heard Daniel sigh, "I'll think about it."

* * *

Banshee looked at the gun, looked up at him and then back down to the gun, "What have you been doing with this gun Guardian?"

"….Shooting things?" What else was he doing with a gun?

"Shooting them or bashing them over the head with it?"

"Whatever works." The old Exo simply groaned, unamused. .

"This one is significantly weaker than your other ones." Banshee said. Turning around picked a Scout Rifle off the wall, "Take this to the range and give it a try. If you like it, you can buy it."

Aro took the gun and thanked him and started heading for the gun range. Not very busy but he liked it that way. His helmet appeared over his head to protect his eyes and ears, he took aim at the targets.

* * *

"The Vanguard's calling on us." Kain announced.

"What for?" he released the empty clip and reloaded. They had only been there a 15 minutes.

"They want to discuss what was found in the World's Grave."

"Us as in just me, Asura and Crona? Or…"

"Your team, Fireteam Daniel and they want us to find Fireteam Mira and bring them in as well."

The gun clicked empty again, "Sight needs tweaking." He muttered to himself, "So they've made no plans about telling Team Katrina?" he asked out loud, "They deserve to know."

"A lot of people do, Aro. People we can't afford to tell."

Aro sighed. Kain was right but Aro had made a promise he intended to keep.

"I think I know where we could find them. Let's buy this gun first. I like it."

Aro's hunch was right. All three were in the gym. Mira delivering thunderous strikes to a punching bag and Shino doing push ups while May calmly sat on his back, reading a book.

Aro knocked against the wall, "You three seemed to have recovered." he said, earning their attention.

"Aro! Finally, a challenge!" Shino shook his entire frame, causing startled May to tumble off his sweaty back, "Come on, have a seat."

After helping an irritated May up, Aro took her place on the Titan's back. Mira wiped her face off with a towel, "So what brings you here?"

"The Vanguard want their report on the World's Grave."

"Ugh." May grumbled under her breath, not even lifting her head from her book, "Don't even like those words."

"Why aren't you training with the others?" Aro asked her.

"I worked out this morning. These two refused to wake up!"

"Us normal people like to sleep when it's dark." Shino shot back, still mostly occupied with his exercise.

Aro chuckled, "So what are you reading?"

"It's called "The Smallest Light." Written by Osiris. The first Warlock Vanguard and Vanguard Commander." she said without looking up, "At least before he was banished."

"Speaking of which, have you found an answer to this whole thing yet?" Mira demanded, sitting cross legged on the mats.

"Answer to what?" Aro asked. He suddenly dropped a short distance to the ground as Shino's arms finally gave out. He stood to let the man breathe.

"Yes I did." May said. She swiped to a certain page, "The title is comes from the phrase, "Even the smallest light shines throughout the darkness." Once you get past the incessant riddles and half answers, then you see he's talking about something called Radiant Light, an ability that seems to awaken in Guardians whose Light has been tested to the utmost limit and survived against all odds."

"And what situation put your Light through that kind of stress?" Aro asked.

"We think it was Greed. He did almost kill all three of us."

"How do you know you have it?"

May didn't speak. Instead, in response, she stuck out her open palm. A small condensed sphere of Solar Light manifested in her hand. Nothing that he hadn't seen from her before. What was new was her eyes. From her pupils to the whites of her eyes were shining bright orange, with wisps of flames floating out of them.

Just like Malphur.

"What's different?" his interest fully piqued.

The fiery sphere disappeared and May's eyes returned to normal, "Besides the eyes, I'm not sure. All I know is how it's acquired and the fact that the color changes based on what the of Light you're using at the moment." She stuck out her hands again and this time manifested a contorting blob of Void energy. Her eyes started glowing again, this time a bright violet.

"Go ahead and ask Ikora today." Aro advised, "She ought to know something."

"Then we better start going. We're already late." Shino said, hopping up and twisting his arms to stretch out his massive shoulders.

* * *

"About time." Cayde grumbled, hunched over the desk at the center of the hall. Aro walked in with Shino, Mira and May. His own team and Daniel's were already there.

"What he means is…" Ikora started, giving him an annoyed look, "We're glad you could join us."

"If you say so." Cayde responded, "Now, your Ghosts have put everything into the system?"

"Yes sir." Mira answered.

"Zea, seal the doors." Zavala commanded his Ghost, "We are not to be disturbed."

"This should go without saying but I feel the need to reiterate." The Speaker walked closer to the table, "Without our permission, _nothing_ is to leave this room. If word gets out, this could cause a mass panic that would tear the City apart. We will bring others into the fold but for now, this is it."

"Let's get started." Ikora said, "As everyone here knows, the Darkness is on its way back. And to quicken its trip, it has created a Gate through space and time and sealed it inside of Arochukwu here until it is ready to be used. Before, we knew next to nothing about the Gate. Only that it has been opened before." A holographic image appeared above the table. It was the Moon and the World's Grave.

"This is why we sent Fireteam Mira into the Hive fortress on the Moon. Asura, as well as the Hive, were there the last time it was opened and set upon another world."

"Our hunch was that they would have kept records." Zavala continued, "Master Rahool theorized that there was a massive library of information there. He was right. And so were we."

"There are several things we have managed to confirm." Cayde said, "First off, that the Gate has to be opened from the other side. Apparently for all its apocalyptic power, it can't open its own door. Second, whoever does open the Gate must do it, that is to say, take in the Darkness, of their own free will. It can sway them but not directly control."

Another set of holographic images appeared on the table. Faces. Four of them with three black silhouettes. Just the very images had the entire room tense.

"Third." Cayde said softly, "The Darkness selects up to seven creatures to assist in the protection, preparation and eventual opening of the Gate. The Grave had many different terms in many different alien languages but they all translate to one word. Herald." The holograms blinked through sets of seven faces, "And over the ages, there have been different sets of incarnations of these Heralds."

He stopped at a set, "These were the last ones before our own."

There were seven faces. Some mechanical. Some flesh and bone. But only one stood out.

Asura.

Asura silently looked away, his hands balled into fists. He had always known. But apart of him still hoped that it wouldn't be true.

Kayla softly placed a blue hand over his shaking fist, "What do we know about them in general?" She asked, hoping to move the conversation along.

"We know little about them. Only that they succeeded. As did each and every set before them." Ikora said. The images switched back to its original image, "We know the identities of four of our own seven."

"So there are seven?" The Speaker asked.

"Definitely seven. Always seven. There can be less but never more than that. The Warlock Toland is the current incarnation of Gluttony. The Hunter Dredgen Yor is the current Lust. The Titans Kabr and Vell Tarlowe are now known as Wrath and Greed respectively." The named faces disappeared, leaving the black silhouettes, "Fireteam Daniel fought Sloth on Mars but were never able to discover his original identity not did he reveal it to them. The other two have not made their faces known at all. We do not know whether or not they are former Guardians like the others. But one is called Envy. And their leader and most powerful member is Pride. Pride is the most powerful…because Pride is usually the one who opened the Gate."

The Vanguard fell silent. Aro could feel the cold knot in the pit of his stomach, "You don't think…"

"Doubtful." The Speaker reassured him, "The Gate is the only form of Darkness inside you. You're much too full of Light."

But Aro wasn't reassured, "But so were the Heralds!" His thoughts flashed back to his fight with Gluttony on the Moon. As well as how Lust and Wrath attacked them, "And they were using abilities specific to Guardians…"

Crona remembered too, "That's right. Lust was using Gunslinger, Wrath was using Striker techniques and Gluttony was a Voidwalker."

"Greed had Defender down to a science." Shino added.

"And Sloth was the best Bladedancer I'd ever seen." Erek finished, "But that's all he ever used. Never a single Solar ability."

"As we found in the info collected," the Speaker said, "Heralds had a connection to the Light before dying. The Darkness uses that connection to corrupt their Light and use them. They must not have full access to their abilities anymore. But as it seems from your previous battles, they more than make up for it."

"The abilities you described, however, was what they were well known for." Zavala added.

"Wait, rewind a bit." Cayde interrupted, "Erek, you said Sloth was the best Bladedancer you had ever seen?"

"Yes he was."

Ikora sighed, "The evidence is mounting Cayde."

He turned to her, "This proves nothing. He'd never take a deal like that!"

"And Kabr would, Cayde? Vell would? Dredgen Yor is understandable and Toland was always a wild card. But those two were always seen as indomitable!"

"You have an idea who Sloth is, don't you?" Daniel realized out loud.

Cayde and Ikora didn't respond. Zavala sighed and said, "We think-"

" _You_ think!" Cayde interrupted.

"The evidence shows!…" Zavala shot back, "That Sloth is the former Hunter Vanguard, Andal Brask."

"What?" Crona breathed, hands dropping to her sides, "That can't…it's not possible."

Zavala sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Nothing is concrete. It's just speculation."

"What about Z and…" Crona whispered.

"That's personal. We'll discuss it later." The image moved back to show all seven Heralds, "And finally, my speculation was correct. Their names have something to do with the way they died. Vell Tarlowe died wanting something so badly, he sold his own soul for it. He was pulled back from the brink of the abyss as Greed."

"Toland reminded me so much of Osiris." Ikora said wistfully, as if speaking mostly to herself. "He wanted knowledge. Power. And he got it. And just like Osiris and the Vex, he took his wants too far. He could never get enough. And he was willing to endanger all of us to get his fix."

Zavala glowered at the image of his face, "And even in death, he could only want more. Gluttony."

"…What about the other two?" Erek asked, his voice just above a whisper, "What about Wrath and…Lust?"

Zavala let out a deep sigh, "We do not know."

"I assume you have a plan to deal with them." The Speaker asked.

"We do. From this point on, your training will taken up about a couple hundred notches. You'll have access to stronger gear and weapons. In accordance with your rank of course. Giving lower ranks higher level weapons can be reckless. You can keep whatever Rank 5 weapons you find, but pass it by us first." Cayde said, "And do all of you know what a clan is?"

"An extended network of Guardians." Mira replied , "Why?"

"Because from this point on, that's exactly what you are. Even get to pick your own name and all that good stuff. You respond directly to us and it will be up to you to take on the Heralds."

"Why us? I'm not exactly looking forward to facing Greed or any of them, for that matter, a second time." Shino said.

"You are the only ones who have taken them on and held your own." The Speaker reminded them, "And as the one who brought us all together in the first place, Arochukwu will lead the clan."

For a few seconds, he couldn't find his voice, "Me?"

"No pressure." Cayde joked.

He sighed, a million thoughts racing through his head. One stood out, "I'd like to ask if Team Katrina can be added in."

The Vanguard looked between themselves before Zavala answered, "Done."

"I'd like to ask them if they want to join as well." Aro added, "They almost died fighting Wrath, Lust and Gluttony. I'd rather not put them through that again unless they choose to."

"Understandable." Zavala said, "So that makes twelve, possibly fifteen Guardians, Ikora?"

" _Twelve?"_ Kain asked. Aro repeated his question out loud. Ikora gave a sly smile and simply pointed behind them.

Three other Guardians were leaning over the railing, standing as if they had been there for a while. The tallest was a bright red Exo, with a white face plate and sharp blue eyes. To the left of him was a tall dark blue Awoken woman with white hair tied back in a bun and a thin scar running up her left eye. The one to the right was a short and muscular, bearded Human with dark tanned skin and darker brown hair that contrasted strikingly with his luminescent blue eyes.

The trio seemed to have no reaction at being discovered.

Ikora let out a small laugh, "If you're wondering why you did not know they were there, these are three members of my Hidden. They've been trained to hide themselves. She introduced them starting to the left, "Aveline, Aashir and Josef." Josef's intimidating expression gave way to a small smile. Aveline gave a small smile of her own and Aashir simply nodded.

"Aashir, Aveline, Josef, do you have any questions?"

"None at all, Master." Aashir answered in a deep gravelly voice. He sounded almost like Banshee, if not younger.

"Then in the meantime, I suggest everyone get to know each other. You are all dismissed."

* * *

Cayde had left pretty quickly. May was talking with Ikora and her father was preparing to leave as well. "Father, can we talk for a minute?"

He looked her up and down and continues walking, "Sure."

She walked with him, "How…what evidence do you have that points to Sloth and Andal being one and the same?"

"Shin Malphur was the Hunter who tried to stop them when they came for Greed. According to him, Sloth fights just like him."

"So this is purely speculation, like Cayde said!"

"We admit it's not a lot to go on.…" Zavala started.

"It's nothing to go on at all, Father." Crona let out a frustrated breath, running a hand through her white hair.

Zavala didn't say anything further. Crona then asked, "If it's true…will we be telling Akira and Z?"

Zavala drew in a deep breath, "I've had plans of telling a few other people, Z being one of them. But, should it be true, we can't expect him to keep something like that from his wife."

"Daniel is already keeping things from his family. It got him kicked out yesterday."

Zavala looked surprised, "I'm sorry to hear that." He looked her over again, "But I don't think that's the only thing troubling you."

"…Before, this was just another mission. A dangerous one, yes, but still just a mission. I didn't plan on having a personal stake in this like Aro, Asura, Daniel and Erek. A lot more to lose if we fail…"

"And a lot to gain if we succeed. But you're long as it affects Aro personally and as long as it affects Asura personally, it affects you." Zavala laughed softly, "It's like that poem you and Z loved as children."

Crona allowed herself a small smile, " The Law of the Jungle."

"The strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack." He recited, "Their problems are yours. You are each other as much as you are yourselves."

Crona stopped, looking down at the ground, "Do you think we'll succeed? It's never happened before."

"It's too soon to tell." Zavala sighed and put a hand on her arm, "It's never been done before. Doesn't mean it isn't possible." Crona wasn't reassured.

"We'll figure something out." Zavala said, "I'm sure of it."

* * *

Asura had gotten back to the room first as Aro had walked with Daniel back to his own. He was laying on the couch as usual but what was unusual was that nothing was on. He was just laying in the dark, staring at the ceiling.

"Nothing on?" Aro joked.

"I never checked." His voice barely above a whisper.

After a few seconds of silence, Aro sat on the arm of the couch next to his head.

"I'm sure today was a bit rough-"

"A bit?" Asura sat up, "I just found out I'm responsible for a planet's destruction. No…" he said, "Not found out. I've always known. This just forced me to stop denying it. Denying that the people trying to end our existence…I used to be like them."

"Used to be, Asura."

"Does it matter?" He laid back down, "A planet's…billions of people's blood is on my hands." He raised a green metal arm toward the ceiling.

"I just wish I could learn more. I want to know what happen. Wrath's practically senile until he wants to kill someone." The insult earned him an angry growl.

"But maybe…maybe it's best if I don't learn anything else." His arm fell across his eyes, "I already hate myself enough." He whispered.

Aro couldn't think of anything else to say. What Asura had said, made his heart hurt. He had no idea how he felt. It's his own fault. He never asked.

He put a hand on the Exo's shoulder, "We'll figure this out. Get some rest."

* * *

Asura felt himself start up. It was unlikely for him to start rising up so early. He heard a distant voice followed by a maddening growl. Wrath?

" _Asura! Asura get up! You have to wake up!_ "

" _Spirit? What's wrong? Why the hell are you growling, Wrath?_ "

"Get up, monster."

Asura fully woke up. _That voice._

His eyes focused on the figure in front of him. A blue hooded Exo. The white, metallic face. The bright blue eyes shining through the dark. And the gun pressed directly into his forehead.

"I knew you survived. At least I hoped you did. Because I've been waiting to do this for a long, long time."

* * *

 _After Beast of the Void, I might start rating the stories "mature". I'm definitely doing that for Book 5 but not sure yet on Book 3 & 4\. _

_I'm also still thinking about whether or not to do a "Taken King" fanfiction. Same characters of course._


	22. Gluttony the Voidwalker

_Gluttony the Voidwalker_

* * *

The sky was overcast, as always. It added a depressing air to the already depressing sight. London. Razed to the ground by the Fallen. A once great city, now a great pile of trash. But it was a pile of trash that Toland had to call home. He certainly wasn't going back to Venus. The Vex weren't the most welcoming creatures.

He paid his destroyed surroundings no mind. There were worst things. Like the nagging pull at the back of his mind, pointing him in a certain direction. The Traveler was back that way. And Guardians were naturally drawn to its Light.

Was he still a Guardian? What was a Guardian without their Ghost? Besides a dead man walking.

He stopped writing in his journal, moving a loose strand of white hair out of his eyes. There was something else clawing at the inside of his skull. He longed to go back to the Moon and continue his research. It was like an itch. An itch he couldn't reach.

No. Not an itch. More like a hunger he couldn't sate. He wanted to know more about the Hive. He _needed_ it. He had been so close before the Vanguard stopped him cold. Back at the Tower, it was much easier to get to the Moon. But his hunger was what got him into his predicament in the first place.

Three years. Three long years since his exile. Three years of trying to understand why the Vanguard were so fucking hesitant. They needed power, just like the Vex did before. The Hive had power. So why not do like the Vex did and take it? What were they afraid of?

He missed the City. He missed his Ghost. He missed his teammates, Eris and Vell. He hoped Vell had moved on. Had found someone who would prioritize him. Someone who would consider how he would feel before doing things that would endanger everyone. Vell deserved better than him, he knew that, but a part of him still burned with anger at the thought of someone else touching Vell like he did.

A twig suddenly snapped behind him. Instinctively, he moved away from the campsite, gun in hand, and retreated into an alleyway. More Fallen Devils most likely, coming to investigate the smoke. Or find out why their previous scouts never made it back.

He knew killing them would arouse suspicion. What was he supposed to do? He very well couldn't let them send back his location.

Plus he needed food.

He'd need to do this quietly. His vision gained a slight orange tinge to it as the Solar grenade manifested in his free hand. He had to be careful to not put too much power into it. Radiant Light was hard to control and he couldn't have them exploding.

He suddenly paused and listened when they got closer. No, the footsteps sounded wrong. Too loud. These were Guardians. Two of them. Did the Vanguard finally send someone after him? He'd have to take them down and get away before they could revive themselves.

He did everything to keep himself as quiet as possible, becoming aware of his own breathing. Counting down from three, he lobbed the grenade from the shadows. The Guardians jumped away at the sound of the Bolt exploding. The Warlock managed to move away from the burst but the Hunter was caught off guard. Firing the gun at the Warlock to keep them at bay, Toland tackled the Hunter. They both rolled to the ground and Toland managed to land on top, immediately pressing the gun into the Guardian's forehead.

The Hunter froze, "Toland?" she breathed.

Toland's finger froze on the trigger. That voice.

"Eris?" He quickly got off of her, breathing hard, "Wha-wh…Eris, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"We were looking for you!" She started to stand and he quickly helped her up, "We?" He turned to face the Warlock, who still had a gun aimed at him, "Do I know you?"

"Toland." The Warlock simply said, lowering her gun.

"Eriana." He recognized the voice immediately. He was wondering who was quick enough to avoid him, "It's been a while."

"Obviously, if you already can't tell the difference between Fallen and Guardians."

"Look I knew you were Guardians." Toland went back to the fire and sat down, "I just thought you were sent here to get rid of me." He took a wooden stick and started poking the flames to move the wood around.

"Have you become that paranoid?"

"Three years being alone with nothing but whispers in my head will do that to you. Besides…"he pointed the stick to pile of Fallen Devil Dregs and Vandals, "You aren't the first ones to try and kill me today. Or even in the last few hours."

Eriana-3 hmphed but soon sat down opposite of Toland in front of the flame. Eris sat next to her.

"Now that the fun is out of the way…"Toland put down the stick, "Would you mind telling me why you're looking for me?"

"We are here to give you a choice." Eriana said.

"Cryptic." he said in a mockingly impressed tone. Eris nearly snorted in amusement.

"This is serious."

"What isn't anymore?"

"Toland…"

"Yeah, yeah." Toland ran a hand through his hair, "What's my choice?"

Eriana and Eris took a look at each other, "Did you hear about what happened on the Moon?" Eris asked.

Toland suddenly laughed, "Hear about it?! I tried to stop it!" He had sent messages anyway he could when he caught wind of their plan to retake the Moon. He tried. They didn't listen. And they paid for it.

"This is funny to you?" Eriana-3 asked angrily, standing up, "Do you know how many we lost?!"

"Too many I'm sure."

"And I plan to avenge each and every one of them."

Toland sobered up quick, "…Are you insane?"

She didn't answer, so Toland continued, "Crota? You want to kill Crota?! Do you even know how to get to him?!"

"No. But you do." Eris said softly, "You also know how to kill him."

Toland sighed, "He's immortal in our world. You have to go to his own personal dimension and kill him there. But there is where he is most powerful."

"You help us…and you get to come home, Toland. It is that simple. We're not staying long so we need your answer now." Eriana demanded.

"I don't even have a Ghost anymore."

"You and I both know that stopped being a problem. As long as you don't die first, you can heal from any injury. Hive magic has its advantages huh?" her voice filled with disgust. Toland picked up the stick and started poking it into the fire again, refusing to respond.

"It's as simple as if you want to come home or not, Toland."

"It's also as simple as if I want to die or not!"

"Look, Toland." Eris said, "The battle on the Moon went as badly as it did because we didn't know how to win. We didn't know he was immortal in our world."

"The Hive will come back soon." Eriana stated, "And Crota is sure to be leading them. The way I see it…" she pointed to the Moon, "That scar on the face of Luna was Crota being lenient. I can't imagine what he plans to do when he gets to Earth."

The Vanguard must be really desperate if they're calling on him for help. All the way from Earth, he could see the Light and the Dark clashing. He could feel the Light being stamped out. And when he tried to sleep, he could almost hear the hundreds of families mourning. He knew he couldn't have prevented it but he still hated himself for not doing more. Eriana's tone of voice told him that she was going. With or without his help.

He gave a resigned sigh, "Fine. I'll do it. I'll get you down into the pit. I'll help you kill Crota."

"Then we leave right now." Eriana declared, standing up, "Grab your things."

Toland waved both his gun and journal, "Done."

Eriana just sighed and walked off. "I guess you don't have a ship?" Eris asked, looking around, "We can take mine."

"Sounds like a plan." he responded, putting out the flames. Her Ghost brought both of them up to her ship. Eris started it up and some distance away, Eriana did the same with her own.

Eris sat down in the pilot's chair while Toland walked around the cockpit. It was silent until she turned around, "Toland, I…"

He looked at her, "What is it?"

She sighed and shook her head, "Never mind."

She was always so easy to read. Toland gave her a knowing smile, "I missed you too."

* * *

This wasn't at all how Toland saw his day going. He didn't expect to ever see the Tower again. Nothing much has changed. Just some new faces. He guessed they were there to replace the missing ones.

"Where are we going?" he asked as the three walked down the hall. Eris next to him, Eriana ahead. Guardians trudged up and down the halls, some taking a brief look at the unkempt Awoken stranger.

"To see someone." Was Eris' only answer.

A thought soon came to him, "Eriana, where is Wei-Ning?"

Eriana stopped. Eris did too.

"Eriana?" Toland called again. She never responded. Toland got the hint soon enough.

It didn't soften the shock, "I'm…I'm sorry. How did she die?" he whispered.

"She carved through Ascendant Hive Knights like she was Ascendant herself. Her guns running dry stopped nothing." She turned around, "It took nothing less than the Prince himself to stop her. Many of the few Guardians we were able to bring back owe her their lives."

"I…" he tried to say, before the knot in his throat stopped him, "I expected nothing less. Especially from her. What about Sai?"

"Sai's fine. She'll be joining us as well."

"Eriana, I know what I said…" Toland pleaded. He put a hand on her shoulder, "But you've seen what he can do. I'm asking as your friend to reconsider."

She roughly shook him off, "You stopped being my friend when you willingly put us in danger by bringing the Hive magic here." Her fists were trembling, "I vowed to avenge them all, and this curse I will carry to my final death. And nothing, but _nothing_ , Toland, is going to stop me."

Toland looked away from her gaze. Eriana didn't continue. She stared at him just a second longer before walking off.

Toland could only watch her go; a million different thoughts running through his head.

"Toland." Eris called.

He caught up to her, still distracted, "Yeah?"

She smiled, "You have to talk to the Vanguard soon. We figured neither of you wanted to wait."

The door opened, "Neither of u-… _Vell?"_

The man stood, "Toland?"

Vell Tarlowe hadn't changed much except his eyes; his green eyes had lost their familiar warmth, replaced by the coldness of someone who had seen too much death. But for the first time in a long time, they brightened at the sound of Toland's voice.

Vell hesitated for just a second before wrapping the other man in a bone crushing hug. Toland's mind took a second to register everything before dropping his bag to the ground and embracing him back.

"What are you…" Vell started, laughing. Tears were forming in his eyes, "This is what you were doing Eris?!"

Eris Morn smiled again, "I'll let you two catch up. You meet the Vanguard in 10 minutes, Toland."

The door sealed shut, but neither moved. Toland could feel tears dropping onto his clothing. He could feel his own tears welling up. Toland was pulled into a rough kiss. Everything went quiet. The only thing he could hear was Vell's breathing. It was honestly the only thing he wanted to hear.

Vell broke away and started kissing his neck, "Vell, wait a minute."

"We only have ten."

"There isn't even a bed in here!"

"When has that stopped us?"

"Vell."

"Fine." Vell let out a frustrated sigh. Toland started laughing, "One minute back and we're already arguing." He sat down on the chair. Vell simply leaned against him, fingers obtained with his own, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. How are you?"

Vell laughed, "Much better now. How are you back here?"

"Eriana didn't tell you about her plan?"

Vell sat up, "That's why you're here?"

"She said if I help them, I can come home. All is forgiven. What did she tell you?"

Vell frowned, "She didn't tell me about you. She just recruited me."

" _So he's coming too…"_ Toland sighed, "Who else is coming?"

"Eriana and Sai Mota. Eris and both of us as well as Omar Agah."

"Omar?" Toland didn't know him too well, "What about his team?"

Vell let out deep breath, "Both died on the Moon. Along with Wei-Ning. Eriana had captured a Wizard and tortured it for information. It showed her a vision of it doing the same to his teammate."

Toland was vividly disturbed, "Fuck…"

"That's why I agreed to this." Vell leaned back, closing his eyes, "Crota. He needs to go down."

"You're right." Toland sighed, "Your brother. How is he?"

Vell eyes sprang back open. He didn't answer.

"What is it? Did something happen between you two?"

Vell stood up, "No-well yes."

Toland chuckled a bit, "Whatever you two are fighting about now, it can't possibly be that ba-"

"Adrian's dead, Toland."

"What?" Toland stood.

"Last year. On Venus. In the Archives."

"Toland?" Eris voice softly called, "They're ready to see you.

"I'll be right there. Have you talked to his children yet?!"

"No I haven't. I-I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?! What happened?"

"Just as I said Toland. He was killed."

"You can't lie to me. What really happened with Adrian, Vell? Did you have something to do with it?"

"Toland." Eris called again.

Toland let out an angry groan, "We're not done discussing this." Vell didn't talk, only nodded. Giving him one last kiss, Toland followed Eris out.

Once down the hallway and out of Vell's earshot, Eris asked, "You were talking about Adrian?"

"Did you know?"

"Yes. He told me when he came back." She was staring at the ground, "I haven't seen him so broken in a long time. Not since you left. He didn't even attend the funeral. I went in his place."

"Eris, what happened?"

She shook her head, "That's not for me to tell."

"How are his kids? Can you tell me that?"

"I check in on them every now and then. First thing they ask about is Vell and I never have an answer for them. Tarlowe has taken over the family business and it's already taking its toll. He doesn't smile anymore. He's just a kid…" she shook her head, "And neither does Daniel. Christine seems to be trying to stay strong for all of them but I can see it in her face. I don't think she's had a night where she didn't cry herself to sleep in a long time."

"I knew a lot has changed but…"Toland couldn't find the words. They stopped in front of the Vanguard Hall, "I'll make sure to go see them before we leave."

"Good luck." Eris whispered before walking off.

* * *

They were talking among themselves. It really felt like nothing had changed. Ikora was staring at Golden Age books, The Speaker and Zavala, Andal, Cayde and the map Andal had made himself.

The talking stopped once Toland walked into the Hall. With a last nod to Captain Andal, Cayde walked out, nodding to Toland as he did. The doors slid shut behind him.

"Toland." The Speaker finally said.

"Speaker."

"Since you're here, I assume you accepted Eriana's offer?" Zavala asked.

"Yes I did."

"That's all well and good but I'm curious Toland." Ikora said, finally looking up from her books, "Why do you want to help us? The ones who exiled you?"

"Crota needs to die and I want to come home. Besides…" Toland said, "Life's way too short to be holding grudges. I stopped being angry a while ago." He said. He wasn't sure if he was lying or not.

"Eriana's told you about what happened?" Andal asked.

"Eriana told me about the Moon. Vell was talking about what happened on Venus to Adrian Suros."

A sad expression crossed Andal's usually stoic face, "I understand. It's a shame really, for the kids. I know what it's like to lose both parents. You'll be required with everything you had before you left."

"Do this, Toland, and you'll be welcomed back as a hero." Zavala finished.

"I understand."

"For the City, Toland. For everyone we lost."

"For the City. And everyone we lost."

* * *

He had spent the rest of the short day getting everything he needed. His spirits improved a bit, hearing Banshee grumble, dealing with Amanda always referring to him as "old man" and even listening to Rahool ramble on like he always did. He had little interest in cryptography but it was good to see him again.

He got back to where he remembered Vell's room was. The door still opened for him as it always did. Vell was sitting in the dark, drinking from a bottle of alcohol. He turned and stood at the sound of the door, "Toland. How was it?"

"Short. Simple." he answered deadpan. Vell took another drink, came in close and handed it to Toland.

"Now let's talk." he said, after taking his own drink. Vell shook his head and suddenly kissed him, "Not tonight. Please." Vell pleaded when he broke away.

"Why the hell not?"

"I…" Vell pressed his forehead against Toland and wrapped his arms around him, "I don't want you to hate me."

Toland didn't say anything, "Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I promise." Vell said, kissing him again. His hands started to slip under Toland's shirt, "I just want to be with you tonight."

* * *

Toland was greeted by total darkness, only slightly permeated by the moonlight. Vell was snoring next to him. Everything was quiet and peaceful. The last three years felt like a dream. Like it had never really happened.

He turned over, propping himself up. He picked up his journal and started flipping through the pages, absentmindedly running his hand through Vell's black hair. Just like he used to.

He stared at the sleeping Vell. "No. Sleeping was never the right word for it." Toland laughed to himself. Vell didn't sleep. He hibernated. The ceiling could drop in on him and he wouldn't even had noticed the draft. The moonlight shone against his dark skin and highlighted the muscular lines and the scar lines of his back. Some familiar, some he had never seen before. He hated himself for not being here. Especially when someone he loved needed him the most.

Toland slowly stood up out of the bed, putting on the new uniform he had been given. He had buried his tags with his Ghost's shell, somewhere on Mars. He didn't want a new one.

He left the room, feeling the wind blow in his face and walked up to the main plaza. Except for the noise from the bar in the Hangar, it was empty and silent.

Toland came to the edge and slowly climbed over the ledge, sitting on the railing and facing the City and the Traveler with his legs hanging over the open air. And for the first time in a long time, he was at peace.

He knew this assault on Crota himself was borderline a suicide mission. There was almost no hope of coming out alive. But if he did win, he'd get to come home. To Vell. To Eris. And even rebuild his friendship with Eriana.

They were worth the risk.

* * *

 _I kind of wanted to make Eris a more positive, upbeat person. Just to show how drastically her time in the pit changed her. Same with Toland and Vell._

 _Anyway, tell me what you think. I really liked this chapter but I always feel I can do better._


	23. The Exo Stranger

_The Exo Stranger_

* * *

"I'd ask for last words…" The female Exo growled, "But you've talked for too long already."

"Really? Cause I haven't heard enough."

"Aro?" Asura whispered.

Aro had heard another person talking and when he looked out to check on Asura, he saw the hooded stranger with a gun pressed to his friend's head. He simply snuck up behind her and returned the favor.

"Assassinating a Guardian?" Aro asked incredulously, pushing the muzzle of his own gun further into her head, "Did you really think that'd work?"

The Exo's eyes shifted to the side, finger frozen on the trigger, "You're really mistaking this monster for a warrior forged in Light?" She turned her head slightly, getting a small look at him, "No. You know exactly what he is, Pride."

Aro stiffened, " _That is NOT my name_."

"Did you or did you not open the Gateway?"

He readjusted his grip, " How did you know that?"

"You can't hide it from someone who knows what to look for, Pride."

 _*click*_ "I do not like repeating myself." Aro growled, "That is not my name! Now drop the gun and put your hands behind your head. I won't think twice about killing you. Unlike him, yours will be permanent."

Her finger remained on the trigger. She didn't move. No one did. But she had a gleam in her eyes. She was asking herself if she was willing to die for this.

Asura wasn't going to let her decide. He suddenly rolled off the couch, kicking her gun away in the process. She spun around, knocking Aro's gun away before he could fire into her head.

In a flash, her knife was in her hand and coming for Aro's neck. Aro jerked backwards, dodging her blade by an inch and ducked to avoid the blade's return strike. Still crouching, Aro aimed a force-push directly at her abdomen, sending the Exo sliding back. From behind, Asura brandished his own knife, twirling it around his fingers before throwing the blade directly at her. She ducked to the side, putting Aro directly in the speeding knife's trajectory.

Aro caught the blade in the palms of his two hands, just in time to to parry an incoming attack from the assailant. Using Asura's blade, he deflected attack after attack before stopping her blade with his own and kicking her backwards. She made a scramble for her gun while Aro leapt over the couch to make a grab for his own. Asura had gotten to it first, tossing it to him before brandishing his own. By the time they had brought their weapons up, she had done the same.

"Stop!" Kain yelled, suddenly appearing between the standoff.

"Kain, move before you get shot!" Aro commanded.

"Aro, she knows Asura. And not only does she know him, she fought him! She may be able to help us!"

"Why would I ever help you?" She asked, readjusting her grip on the gun.

Spirit appeared, "Your forces fought the Heralds before and even killed some of them. Maybe you can help us beat the current incarnations."

She looked between the Ghosts and Aro, "So you're really not Pride?"

"No. I'm not even sure who is or how the Gate ended up inside me."

"That's simple. You opened it."

"Well, I don't remember that either. Look can we…" he raised the gun away from her and his hands, "Can we all just talk? We don't have to fight. I just wanted to protect my friend. Please?" He walked back towards the table and placed his gun and Asura's blade down. Asura followed suit and after a few seconds, the Exo did the same.

"You know about my past. So tell me what happened." Asura asked softly, "Tell me what I… _he_ did."

She just looked at him, bright blue eyes boring into his skull. She shook her head and made a disgusted noise, "After the atrocities you committed, I can't believe you don't remember. Fine." She leaned back in the seat and crossed her legs, "I didn't know you before you became Wrath. I didn't know any of the Heralds. All I know is that when your plans became known, I was sent in to help fight."

"So the previous Heralds didn't stick to the shadows?" Spirit asked.

"No, Little Light. They were brash. Arrogant." she spat, disgust lacing her tone, "They declared war on us from the start. We were losing, yes, but our defeat wasn't enough for all of you. You wanted us destroyed. Our planet's native population hid their children in their most well defended bunker-"

"Base Seven?" Asura interrupted, sitting up, "The northern region."

She swiped up her gun, pointing it at him, "So you do remember?!"

"No! Well…not really." Asura stuttered, hands up, "I've been having dreams. For a while now. And sometime Wrath takes over…"

"All the more reason to take you down right now!" Aro was starting to stand again, gun already in hand.

"Killing him won't do anything." Spirit said calmly, "Once I revive him, and I will, Wrath will just return with him."

She was quiet for sometime before making a disgusted noise and slamming the gun down and sitting back in the chair, "A Herald wielding Light. It makes no sense."

"We found out there can only be seven and there are." Aro pointed out, placing his gun down, "Far as I'm concerned, he's no longer the Darkness' control."

"Please." A pleading tone entered Asura's voice, "What happened to the base?"

She looked him directly in the eyes, "You blew it up. Razed it to the ground. I was there, trying to stop you."

Asura was stunned, "No…I…no." He couldn't find the words. Aro was just as speechless.

"You barely escaped in the aftermath, but you did. Within minutes, you single-handedly put our people on the brink of inevitable extinction." She snarled, the hate emanating from her, "Our people. Our creators. With no will left to fight, submitted to the Darkness and its armies. The planet was promptly destroyed. Only a few made it out alive."

Asura fell back in the chair, just staring at the table. He suddenly stood up.

"Asura…"

He didn't respond. He walked past the table and went into his room. The door closed, but they could hear him fall back against it and slide to the ground.

"This was all a very long time ago. How are you here?" Aro asked trying to change the topic.

"The Vex. They brought us here."

"How?" Kain asked.

"We encountered them on an unnamed planet outside this system. I'm still not sure on the details but I know we got pulled through a Vex Gate and wound up here." She said, "For…your friend, our fight was thousands of Earth years ago. But for me, it was just fifty."

"And you tracked him to Earth?"

"When we arrived, we suddenly detected millions of signals just like Wrath's."

"What? How the hell is that possible?" Aro demanded, sitting up, " _Kain are you recording this?"_

" _I've got everything."_

"That's what we came to find out. But the most likely answer seems to be that he crashed landed here on Earth and humanity found him."

"What are you trying to say?" Kain asked. Aro didn't like where this was going.

"I'm saying that humanity found him, studied him…and from the looks of things, mass produced him."

"The Exos." Aro breathed.

"Is that what you call us on this planet?"

"Y…yes. They were created for an unknown threat to humanity. They spontaneously developed consciousness."

"They didn't spontaneously develop consciousness." She spat, as if insulted, "If they are anything like me or Wrath, they always had it. Humanity probably just stopped being able to suppress it. The last thing an army needs is a soldier who thinks."

Aro had no way to respond to that. Or to anything she said. This was all very sudden. Asura being the ancestor of every Exo on Earth. He wondered if he could hear.

"I have a question myself." Kain dropped Aro's strip of cloth with the two names onto the table, "My Guardian's name is the first one. Do you know the second?"

She took the cloth and examined it, "No I don't." She handed it back, "Why do you ask?"

"Someone tied this to my corpse. According to my Ghost, it is centuries old. Whoever tied this may know about the Gate and me."

"Well since your Ghost revived you and not something else, I'll believe you're not Pride." She stood, looking at Asura's door, "Him? He'll need to do more to convince me that he's no longer Wrath if you want my help on anything."

Aro closed and rubbed his eyes, "How will we be able to contact you…" He opened his eyes. She was gone.

* * *

"You didn't even get her name?" Crona asked, rummaging through their fridge, "Some one night stand you are."

"Why are you in our fridge?"

She took something out and kicked the door with her boot, "Some of us haven't eaten yet." She sat down at the table, "So do you believe her?"

"Her description of the events match up with what little Wrath remembers." Asura answered sullenly.

"What does Wrath have to say about it?"

"Nothing. He's completely silent."

"So she wants him to prove himself. He's a Guardian. He has nothing to prove." She argued, "As a matter of fact, he already proved himself when we took down a Prime Servitor."

"She thinks otherwise. And we may need her help." Aro countered. He then sighed, "Asura did you catch what else she said?"

"Yes." He looked down, "I did."

"What did she say?" Crona asked before preparing to take another bite.

"Humans may have used Asura as the original blueprint for every Exo ever created."

She froze mid-bite, "…Are you joking?"

He shook his head.

She put the fork down, her eyes wide with shock, "That's…wow that's…" she fell back.

She let out a deep breath, "How are you feeling Asura?" She asked, concerned.

"Like the monster I am."

"Asura…" Aro started.

"No! Don't sugarcoat it, Aro!" He stood, "Because that's exactly what I am. Is Gluttony a monster? Is Lust? What do you call someone who could do…who has done something so horrible, Aro? Tell me! "

Aro didn't answer. "If they're monsters, then I'm no different. She can give me whatever test she wants as many times as she wants for me to prove that I've changed. It won't do anything." He grabbed his coat and started for the door, "It won't bring anyone back."

Aro wanted to say something. To tell him he was wrong. But he couldn't. Maybe because he wasn't wrong.

"Asura…" Crona stood.

"Crona, no. Just…just everyone please leave me alone."


	24. Touch of Flame

_Touch of Flame_

* * *

Where do you think he ran off to?" Crona asked softly. She and Aro had left a while later, leaving for the training hall.

"I have no idea."

"Goddamn it, why didn't you try to stop him? Why didn't you say anything?!"

"What was I supposed to say Crona?" Aro argued back, "Nothing I said would change his mind. Or reality. Maybe it's just best to give him some time."

She sighed, "Maybe you're right. I can't imagine what he must be feeling right now."

"Mind-shattering guilt for one. Like I said, it's best if we give him time." He repeated, "Are we training together or going separate?"

"I'm close to getting the full Ward of Dawn down. I just need some time. I'll see you later." She waved and broke off, heading left. Aro took the right. As he did, he passed by one of the training rooms, glancing into the window before continuing on.

He stopped suddenly and back tracked. "So he came here…" his Ghost chirped.

Asura was inside, surrounded by dummies, blade brandished and glowing with Arc energy with his Ghost floating nearby. He was standing completely still, trying to maintain the high energy state. He suddenly struck the target directly in front of him. The glowing blade slid straight through his target's neck. He jumped to the next and the next, blade leaving its target as fast as it entered.

"I see why they call it a dance." His Ghost commented, "I can't believe he's got Arc Blade down so well. Even before you and Crona. Second time he's passed the both of you up. At least in terms of super abilities."

"Let's not distract him." Aro said, moving on. He entered one of the training chambers and his Ghost switched him into his armor but left off his helmet.

Aro sat down, cross legged and began attempting to quiet his mind. Ikora said that for Warlocks, that was always the hardest part. Probably for him more than anyone else.

He started to feel warmth all over. At the risk of breaking concentration, he opened his eyes and took a look at himself.

He was on fire.

He felt no pain. Instead he felt energized. As if he had gotten a full night of sleep instead of a full night of staring at the ceiling. His body was covered in a golden cloak with wisps of smokeless flames drifting off of him. He couldn't help but let out a small laugh and an idiotic smile. He opened his right palm and a Solar grenade manifested in his hand. His fingers closed around it, snuffing it out.

"So this is what it feels like?" Kain could feel what he felt, "I've gotta say; much easier than the Nova Bomb. Less explosions."

"Not yet." Aro said, focusing. He wanted to try something. Something that he had always seen Kayla do. Kain brought up one of the dummies. Aro raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened. He frowned and opened his hand, conjuring a small flame. "Okay so what's wrong?" He asked himself. He snapped his fingers again. Nothing. He tried his left hand and got the same result.

"Come on." He growled in frustration and kept snapping , " _I said, come on!_ " he yelled.

The dummy suddenly erupted in a fiery explosion, knocking him backwards. He stood, coughing, " _It worked?"_ He checked himself out to make sure he wasn't missing limbs and noticed he had exited Radiance.

Kain flew over to examine the scorched dummy, "The lack of explosions was fun while it lasted."

" _I shouldn't need Radiance to do this."_ Aro took aim, calmed his mind and snapped again. Nothing. "Damn it. What am I doing wrong?"

"You need to feel something." A deep throaty voice said.

He turned towards the doorway, "Josef?! I wasn't expecting you."

The short man simply nodded and gave a small smile, "You're trying to be a Sunsinger while acting like a Voidwalker. The Void requires control. Solar requires emotion."

"I don't remember feeling anything when I first entered Radiance at first…"

"Actually…"Kain interjected, "You weren't in a full state of Radiance until that…"happy" feeling started."

"Makes sense. I'm surprised I didn't realize that. How'd you know?"

Josef walked into the room, standing next to him. "Aashir used to have the same problem. He's not the most…"touchy feely" I guess is the word, Exo in the world. Or at all." He shook his head dismissively, "Forget him. What's your Ghost's name?"

"Kain."

"Kain, raise three more dummies."

As Kain did, Josef continued, "When it worked the first time, it was because you got angry. Don't calm yourself. Go ahead and get pissed off if you want."

Easy enough. He had plenty to be angry about. But he needed something specific. One thing came to mind.

He imagined the Heralds. The ones he knew and even the ones he didn't. He visualized Sloth attacking Daniel, Kayla and Erek. Gluttony attempting to force Katrina to leave her team to die. Greed maiming Tarlowe, forcing him into a wheelchair. Lust killing Eren.

He snapped his finger, sending a large ball of fire towards the central dummy. The one to the left of it was caught in the ensuing explosion.

Josef was slightly taken aback, "Maybe reel the anger in a bit but you see?" Josef smiled, scratching his coarse beard and started to walk out, "Anger or happiness is best. But both are slippery slopes to use. Find one that works for you and stick to it. As long as you don't let it become who you are, you'll be fine." He nodded at Crona as he passed her. He stopped to talk to someone at the end of the hall.

"What was that about?" She asked, once she was sure he was out of earshot.

" He was helping me with something." Aro's armor was replaced by his uniform. He had calmed down but the anger was still there. He took one look at her faces and gave an exasperated sigh, "Oh for fuck's sa-will you stop ogling the man?!"

"What?! I'm not…" she lowered her voice, sounding defensive, "I'm not ogling him!"

"First Shin, now him. Are you and your father doing okay?" He started laughing. She wasn't amused. She turned bright purple, "Shin and Josef aren't even that old! Whatever. What was he helping you with?"

Aro snapped his fingers, sending the last dummy flying into the wall. Aro gave the Titan a smug smile and started to walk away. He made a stop by the room he had saw Asura in and, to his disappointment, it was empty.

He kept walking, pretending not to hear Crona's questions about who was going to clean the mess he made.

* * *

Daniel let the steaming water run down the sore muscles. Sparring with Shino was always a bad idea. But it took his mind off everything else. No better distraction than pain. He may have overdid it a little, seeing as he had to lean against the wall for support.

"Daniel." He heard his Ghost from behind the curtain, "It's almost time."

"Yeah, I know." Daniel sighed and shut off the water, shaking the water out of his hair **.** He quickly dried himself off and dressed for bed.

"Bring up the screen, Caesar. Call Maya."

"Are you sure you can do this?" His Ghost asked, obviously concerned.

"You know what's going on in my head." Daniel grunted, "So you know the answer. Just do it."

"Calling her then." Daniel just stared at the empty holographic screen, waiting for her to answer.

"Daniel?"

He couldn't help but smile at her first, "Hey, Maya…" Her Ghost floated past behind her, causing him to pause mid-sentence, "Why is your Ghost pink?"

She looked behind her, "Ghosts can change their colors! You didn't know that?"

"No. I didn't." He answered, glaring at his Ghost.

"You didn't ask." Caesar responded, nonchalant as ever.

"Sol said the same thing!"

"Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm fine. Just wondering when I can come back to the Tower…"

"Not for some time, Maya."

"But I'm a Guardian too!"

"Not until you're 21." He reminded her, "Look, it's not just that. It's just…there's just some things going on here."

"…Like Vell?"

Daniel fell silent. "Why can't you tell us?" she asked.

"I have orders." He repeated the same excuse he always gave. It wasn't a lie. But it was more like that he was just as confused.

"But this is Vell! He's family-"

"How's Christine?" He interrupted, changing the subject.

Her face fell, "She's fine but sleeping now." she answered resentfully, "She does it a lot."

"Between school and taking care of Tarlowe, I'm not surprised."

"Would you like to speak to her?"

"No. Let her sleep. How's…how is he?"

"He's changed. A lot."

"Has he moved to the chair?"

"Yeah. But he rarely moves. He doesn't work anymore or design or work on weapons. He's always angry or sad."

"He's going through a big change. One that might be permanent. Give him time."

"Why can't you come home, Daniel?"

He looked away, "Because I can't. I don't deserve to."

"That makes no sense!"

"Nothing ever does, Maya."

He wasn't helping anything. Her face was showing that, "Fine. I'll talk to you later. I'm tired." She said.

"Alright. I'll let you go. It was nice talking to you."

"Yeah. You too." He could tell she didn't mean it and it didn't surprise him. It didn't hurt any less either.

The screen shut off and Daniel leaned back in the seat, rubbing his eyes. He didn't expect that to be so difficult, "Call Aro, Caesar. Please. I need him here."

* * *

The screen disappeared and Maya heard a knock on her door, "Was that Daniel?"

She stood, "Yeah. He said he'd call you later."

"…Alright. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't." She heard as the door closed. After a few seconds, she slowly trudged down the dark hall to the far room.

She knocked on the door. "Come in." A hoarse voice responded. Tarlowe had talked very little in a while and had a disheveled look to him. His hair was unkempt and shaggy. He hadn't shaved in some time. He had left the house in some time.

"Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine Christine." He grumbled, roughly swiping the tablet in front of him, "Go back to sleep. You've got class tomorrow."

She took in a deep breath, "I actually plan on quitting school."

Tarlowe looked up from the what he was reading, "What?"

"I'm quitting."

"Why?"

"Someone needs to take care of you." she argued.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me."

She walked into the room and closed the door so Maya couldn't hear them, "Are you serious?"

He looked at her, "You're not quitting." He repeated.

"I'm sorry." she said, "But I've made my decision."

"And I'm not letting you go through with it."

"I'm through repeating myself." She said. She started to leave.

"So am I. Christine, listen to me." He moved the chair back away from the desk and moved closer to her. There was still some getting used to the sight of him. He always used to tower over all of them. She still forced herself to look down at him.

Tarlowe took a deep breath, "You've been talking about being a physician since you were little. Almost to the point where it started to annoy me. I'm not going to let you give up on your dream." He tried to maintain the authority in his voice, but but the sadness could still be heard in it, "Not for me. I can take care of myself."

She looked at him for a long time, "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask." He started to move back toward the desk.

"…Tarlowe?" she called.

"Yeah?"

She then shook her head "…Never mind." She decided, "Good night." She faces towards the door.

"Good night, Mo-" he corrected himself quickly, "I mean…Chris."

It was an honest mistake. She couldn't help but smile anyway.

* * *

 _I decided I will be doing a Taken King story with the same characters._

 _Those I keep alive anyway…_


	25. Gluttony the Voidwalker Part II

_I apologize for the wait. Finals week._

* * *

 _Gluttony the Voidwalker Part II_

Toland let a deep sigh upon wakening. A good night's sleep, free of whispering voices and hellish nightmares, was a rarity for him. After the last six months, the last three years really did seem like a dream. He stretched his arms out across the bed, only registering after a few seconds that something was missing.

The sound of running water shutting off for his attention. Vell was leaning against the restroom door frame, wiping his face down with a towel, "And you complain about my snoring."

Toland shook his head, "Have you been awake long?"

"Yeah." Vell started rummaging around for a shirt, "Someone had to keep awake and make sure you didn't suffocate." He found one and threw it into Toland's face, "Get dressed. We're heading out."

"Why, may I ask?"

"I thought we should all spend the day together. We leave tomorrow, remember?"

"Yeah." Toland sighed, "I remember. Where's Eris?"

"You can't hear? She's in the kitchen."

As if on cue, a Ghost appeared in front of the door. Cole, if Toland remembered correctly. "Eris is waiting for you guys. She'd like you to hurry but at least be decent and not smell like…well…each other." The Ghost finished almost sheepishly.

"You could've left that last part out, Cole!" Eris' voice rang out from the kitchen. Toland turned a bright purple and and quickly started to get dressed. Vell fell down into the chair, laughing uproariously. Cole disappeared from the room but it's voice could still be heard, defending itself.

Breakfast between the three was as it had always been before Toland's exile. Vell telling the worst jokes he could think of. Eris and Toland laughing at them anyway with their neighbors probably wondering who had the nerve to be making so much noise this early in the morning.

They did just as Vell planned; going around the City, talking with old friends, blowing whatever money they had. They left the Tower early morning and didn't return till the sun started going down. They wouldn't be back for sometime. They might not be coming back ever.

It almost worried Toland how good things seemed. He couldn't help but feel that with all these undeserved blessings, that it would all be ripped away from him. That Vell and Eris would be taken from him. Even Eriana and Ikora seemed to be warming up to him again. The Speaker, Zavala and Andal were hesitant but Toland meant it when he said he wanted to come home. He would've liked to visit his Ghost's resting place on Mars but the Cabal have probably already overturned it. Maybe after…

"Oi!" He felt a knock on the side of his head, "You're doing that over thinking shit again. I thought we were taking it easy?" Vell grumbled. The three had relocated to the emptying Plaza, watching the City from one of roofs.

Toland leaned back, smiling, "Us Warlocks are far too uptight for trivial things such as…relaxing." He said in mock contempt. "No, we like leave having fun and enjoying life to the lesser minds." Vell began laughing and handed Toland the bottle he was drinking from.

Eris snatched it up first, "Of course you do! Traipsing around like you're anything special in your…"she paused to take a drink, "Dresses." She finished.

"Armor!" Toland corrected defensively, "Robes at the very least!"

"She's just trying to rile you up, Toland." Vell chuckled, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him closer.

"I'm not really trying at this point." she smirked as Toland snatched the bottle from her hand and took a swig and grimaced, "What is this swill? Cabal piss?"

"Well, that's rude." Vell took the bottle away, "Eris picked this one out all by herself." He took another drink and handed it to her.

"Yeah and I worked really hard on it too."

"Just like you worked really hard on that plan to become a Fallen Kell, right?"

"What plan? I don't know what you're talking about." She said quickly, her grayish blue skin turning pink with embarrassment.

"Don't tell me you don't remember!" Toland laughed. He grabbed and held up Eris' discarded jacket, "Here's my plan to become a Fallen Kell." He recited in a mockery of her voice, "Fallen seem to respect violence and big capes. I'm incredibly violent and I just found this cape!"

Vell's dark face was turning dark purple as he gasped for air. He was past the point of laughter.

"I was drunk when I said that!" Eris grabbed her jacket back. Toland laughed for a little while longer before calming down.

Nothing was said for a few minutes until Eris broke the silence, "I can't believe you still remember that."

"Why not? Is there a problem? Toland questioned, sitting up.

"No, it was just a while ago. It was the last time we were all together before you left. I mean…were exiled."

He leaned back again, a sad look crossed his face, "No, you were right the first time. I walked away from you."

"The Speaker kicked you out." Vell reminded sternly.

"Yeah, well he wouldn't have if he didn't have a reason." The whispers in his mind grew slightly louder at just the mention of his old work, "My actions put everyone here in danger. Even after I was warned to cease, I didn't."

"Besides." Toland continued, "We've seen first hand what that kind of power does to people. But sometimes, when I think of Dredgen Yor and everything he did, I wonder…am I any different?"

"You are _nothing_ like that…" Vell shook his head angrily, "3 Guardians and all…all those people. How can anyone do something like that? I don't understand."

"I don't care to understand. All those random disasters and murders and he was responsible all this time…" Eris sighed, "If only we had found out earlier…I'm glad Shin took care of that bastard."

"No one has seen him since though. He disappeared with Ward's old gun and Ghost. I haven't heard much but the Speaker declared him a Hunter before he left."

"I understand the gun but why his Ghost?"

"This is just speculation…" Toland started, "But I don't think it's Ward's Ghost anymore."

"Can Ghost transfer Guardians like that?" Eris asked.

"Looks like."

She let out a tired breath, "Nothing about this makes sense." She gave a low laugh, "Then again, whatever did."

All were quiet for sometime until Vell broke the silence, "Toland. You really don't hate me?" His words slurred slightly.

"Hmm?"

"For…"he swallowed, "For what happened to Adrian."

"How could I hate you for something you had no choice in?" Toland reminded him softly, "If I'm…disappointed, I guess, at anything, it's the fact that you haven't told his children."

"They deserve to know, Vell." Eris said softly.

Vell didn't respond at first but after a few minutes, he nodded his head, "You're right. You're both right. I need to tell them. But I don't know if I'm ready."

Eris smiled, "I'm glad you came around. But it's a bit late to tell them tonight."

Toland had lost track of time. The Tower Plaza was almost completely empty, "When we come back then?" Toland offered, "There's no guarantee that we'll all come back."

Vell frowned, "Toland…"

"I am just being realistic." He defended, "There's no guarantee we'll all come back. So whichever one of us does return must promise to tell them. Here and now."

"That's fine." Eris quickly said, "I've been part way on whether or not I should tell them myself."

"Vell?" The man continued staring at the skyline, lost in thought. Toland repeated his name. Vell gave a resigned sigh, "Alright. Ok. I promise."

The sun was gone but it never really mattered. A strange sound ripped his attention away from the shining City. Eris had fallen asleep on them. The day was over.

"She's out." Toland laughed softly, "We better head back. Grab her."

"Why me?" He complained as he proceeded to hoist her up onto his back.

"You're the strongman, last I checked." Toland shrugged, "Besides, you're getting a bit thick on me. You could use the exercise." He patted his stomach and jerked back when Vell tried to reach for him.

"Whatever. Let's get her back to her room."

"Actually, I think it would be better if she stayed with us for the night."

Vell paused, "You mean on the couch?"

Toland chuckled, "We can share the bed. I doubt she'd want to spend the night alone."

"Alright then. If you say so."

"Just put her on the bed. Get her shoes off first." Toland said once they got back to the room.

"Yes sir." Vell did as he was told and divested himself of his shirt and shoes before roughly dropping onto the bed. Eris didn't even stir. Toland was a bit quieter.

"You say you don't really see me any differently after what I told you." Vell groaned sleepily, "But for sometime, I saw you differently after your exile. I actually hated you for putting us through all of that. But here I am, inflicting the same pain on my own family. I guess I'm just as bad as you. A match made in hell."

"We've all done things we wish we hadn't. At least what you did was for a good reason."

"I still wish I hadn't. But despite everything, these last few months have been the best I've ever had." Vell laughed tiredly and wrapped an arm around Toland's chest, "No matter how things go tomorrow, I'm really glad you said yes to this god forsaken mission. I'd probably never get to see you again otherwise."

"As crazy as it sounds, so am I."

"I…" Vell tried to speak before his eyes closed and his breathing became deep and even. He always had the hardest time staying awake.

Toland closed his own eyes with a smile, "I know. I love you too."

* * *

 _Toland, Vell and Eris are such cinnamon rolls._

 _I hope nothing, you know,_ _ **bad**_ _happens to them…_


	26. Gluttony the Voidwalker Part III

_Upcoming major character (sort of) death_

* * *

 _Gluttony the Voidwalker Part III_

"This is it." Vell clapped Toland on his back with an armored hand, knocking him out of his daze, "Are you ready?" He had found Toland in the Plaza, leaning over the railing and watching the City go about its day.

"I'm ready to go back to sleep. Where are the others?"

"All in the Hangar waiting for us. The Vanguard is having one final pep talk with all of them."

"I've already gotten my little speech from them. "Make us proud." "For the City." "Guard your mind." All things like that."

Vell laughed, "Yeah I got pretty much the same. You know Andal will be leaving in a few days."

"For what?"

"The Reef sent out a bounty. Some Fallen mercenary named Taniks. No house, no banner or Kell." Vell laughed again, "You won't believe this but he finally convinced Cayde to take the Dare."

Toland chuckled too, "What are the terms?"

"Cayde chose them. If Andal doesn't come back, Cayde takes over."

Now Toland was fully laughing, "Cayde-6 as Vanguard? He'd probably run the Tower into the ground."

"I doubt it; not with Zavala and Ikora there, I'm sure. On an interesting note, it'll be the first time all three members of an original fireteam become Vanguard."

"Is that so…"

"Vell." His Ghost appeared, "It's time."

"Alright, thank you." The Ghost disappeared and he turned to Toland. Without saying another word, Toland straightened up off the railing and slowly followed Vell to the Hangar. Zavala and Andal had already left. Ikora, Eris and Eriana were talking in low voices.

"Agah! Mota!"

A dark haired Human man and a shorter, violet colored Exo turned at Vell's voice, "Omar. Sai. Good to see you."

"Vell." Sai looked behind him, "And Toland. Glad you two could make it."

"Bit late to turn back isn't it?"

Omar laughed, "That it is. C'mon. Let's get this over with." He clapped Toland's shoulder before disappearing into his ship.

"We'll wait for you in orbit." Sai said. She gave them one last wave before disappearing.

They had the right idea. No point in sitting and talking around. Toland started for his own ship until a hand stopped him.

"Hold on a sec." Vell pulled him closer and grinned, "One last one for the road?"

Toland laughed before pulling him in. The kiss started off soft before gradually becoming rougher. Like they always did. He could feel Vell smiling into the kiss.

"Ahem." A voice coughed, causing both to break away. Vell, annoyed at being interrupted turned to see Eriana and Eris waiting for them.

Eris seemed slightly amused. Eriana obviously wasn't, "We're departing." She informed them curtly, before disappearing into her ship. Before Toland could make for his ship, Eris wrapped both him and Vell into a tight hug, "Good luck you guys."

They broke apart soon after. Toland started for his ship. He took one last look at the ships entering and leaving. He looked up at what he believed was Eriana's ship. He could've sworn she was staring at them. Maybe it was just his imagination.

The door to his ship lowered and before he could trudge up the ramp, Vell passed behind him, giving him a rough kiss on the cheek before disappearing into his own. Laughing and fixing the hair he knocked out of place, Toland entered the cockpit. A single weapon was placed against his seat. He didn't expect the Vanguard to ever let him see _Bad Juju_ again. They must have been desperate.

Activating the manual override, the engines started charging up. Toland watched the ground as people and frames quickly cleared the runway. The engines fired. He was used to it but the impact was always jarring. The ship shot out of the Tower and immediately made for orbit, the City falling out of view.

The ship slowed once it joined the other five in orbit. Eriana's voice buzzed on the comms, "If everyone's ready, set a course for the Anchor of Light."

"One more overview for the road ,Toland?" Sai asked once the group of ships took off.

"Alright then. As you already know, Crota is immortal in our world. The Crota you fought was something of a remote controlled copy. The soul gets here through some sort of transporter or conduit and creates itself a temporary body to control. Destroying this transporter would halt his return until the Hive can build a new one."

"How long would that take? To make a new one if we were able to get to it?" Omar asked.

"At least a few centuries most likely. We're skipping the middle man. The only place he is not immortal is his throne world but it's his throne world where he is most powerful. There are two known portals to it. The Hellmouth and the Temple of Crota."

"The Hellmouth?" Eris asked, "Do you mean the massive crater? Crota lives down there?"

"Yes and no. The Hive have created a door and the Hellmouth is like the path between our world and his. That crater leads to another dimension entirely. Think of it like the Vault of Glass. Apart of Venus and yet it's own dimension at the same time."

"Where will we be going? Toland? Toland?!" Eriana called.

"What? Sorry. Um…" why were the voices starting up again? They were telling him something. He could only make out the first …Tem…Temp

"Toland? Are you alright?" Vell asked concerned.

"Temple." Came Toland's answer. His reply was strangely unfocused and distant. As if his mind was somewhere else, "We'll go through the Temple."

"Any specific reason?" Omar asked, "Is it easier?"

"I…I couldn't tell you. It's just what I feel."

"…Alright then." Omar's voice showed his displeasure for the reason.

"Toland. We're approaching the Moon." Eriana stated, "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"…Alright then. Prepare to drop down."

"Been a little while since I was here." Toland thought as he took in his bleak surroundings. He turned and watched his ship make the trip back to orbit, shielding his eyes from the flare of the engines.

Eriana moved past him, "Omar, any strange activity?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. No Hive and some Fallen Exiles scrounging around. Hold on…" he moved closer to the old lunar accelerator. Toland could just barely make out a humanoid figure, "Is that…"

"Hey!" A voice rang in all their comms. The person, a Guardian waved from his perch from atop the accelerator.

"So it is. Tevis!" Omar waved.

The veteran Hunter jumped off the accelerator and Blinked the rest of the distance down, walking towards the group. Omar attached his gun to his back and met him halfway, shaking his hand and pulling him into a rough hug, "How long have you been here?"

"A few days. Just finished scouting some strange Vex gate in the Valley of Kings on Mars. Still have no idea what it's for though. Nothing good I'm sure. So what's uh…" he gestured to the group, "What's this?"

Sai's confusion was obvious, "Omar and I must've told you three times!"

Tevis shrugged.

"Crota?"

"Oh! You did tell me!" Tevis laughed, "Well I won't keep you waiting then. Where are you headed?"

"Through the Archer's Line. Into the Temple." Eriana answered.

"My Ghost has been receiving reports from that area. Strangely quiet."

"Quiet is good for us."

"Ha! I guess it is." Tevis started back for the top of the accelerator, "Good luck. And stay safe."

* * *

"So this is the Temple of Crota?" Vell asked.

"Yes it is." Toland whispered hazily. The whispers weren't whispering anymore, "Have you never been here before?"

"Nope. As a matter of fact, I actively avoided this place."

Toland could understand why. Even asleep, Crota's power covered the Temple in a permanent Darkness Zone.

"Something's wrong…"

"Other than the Darkness Zone? What is it, Sai?"

"They had me do scouting here once." Sai said, "I don't remember the doors being ope-" a loud, bloodcurdling screech cut her off. Followed by another and another. Toland eventually lost count.

"Thrall! From the Temple!" Omar's Hand Cannon boomed with each click of the trigger. The faceless Hive monsters were running over each other to reach the intruders.

Toland cursed, "Damn it, what could have tipped them off?" He and the rest of the group started to spread out.

"Worry about it later!" Eriana yelled, reloading, "We need to get through them."

Toland readjusted the grip on _Bad Juju_. Wisps of green smoke wafted from the muzzle. He could hear the voices again. They were laughing.

Shaking his head, Toland fired full auto Pulse Rifle, taking aim at the screaming mass of Hive coming for them. With every kill, the gun fed itself and him; filling him with energy that he was not sure was actually Light. And as he got stronger, the voices became louder, bolder, hungrier. Toland jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a Thrall's claws. He then proceeded to grab it by its throat and rip the energy straight out of it. Whether it was some sort of life force or something else that kept the monster alive, he cared little. The creature crumbled to dust in his hands either way. He snapped his fingers, causing a small fiery explosion near the doors where the monsters were coming from. The Thrall simply ran through it, most only making it a few steps through the Solar grenade before crumbling. Toland would never understand their blatant disregard for their own safety.

Suddenly, a deafening crack came from above their heads as the mountains shattered. Toland jumped and glided from spot to spot to avoid the boulders, touching the ground for less than a second before lifting off again. He looked up at where the rocks were coming from. What he saw froze his heart.

"What the hell is that?!" Eris pointed her gun at the monster emerging from the cracks.

"Crota's brother." Toland whispered, "Alak-Hul and his mate, Verok. They're the ones leading this ambush!"

"Crota has a broth-Toland look out!" Eris charged straight for him. Knife brandished, she jumped into the air. Crackling with Arc energy, Eris spun herself into a shining blue buzz saw. The large boulder falling towards Toland shattered when she made contact.

"Thanks." He breathed.

"Don't thank me yet." She said with a bitter laugh before jumping back and striking another Thrall with her glowing blade.

She was fighting but she was tired. All of them were beginning to slow down. The Thrall had stopped coming from the Temple and yet they continued to flood the crater. Alak-Hul had joined his spawn, swinging his massive axe at Sai and Eriana, who both managed to Blink away in time.

"Vell?" Toland called out, looking around for him. A Thrall tumbled past from behind him. Vell beat another one into the ground before throwing a third off of his back. He was shaking and heaving. He wouldn't be able to keep this up. Something was wrong. Omar was staring at him, looking almost stricken.

"Vell? Vell, are you alright?" Toland asked, moving towards him.

"HEAD TOWARDS THE TEMPLE!" Vell suddenly roared. There was a strange crack in his voice. He gave one last look at Omar, who was still staring at him.

"Towards the temple! Hurry!" Eriana commanded.

Omar snapped out of his daze and made a dash towards the temple with the others. Vell leapt up and slammed the ground, clearing as much of the way as he could with Arc lightning. Toland turned around once he was near the temple doors. Alak-Hul was advancing on them. The others were inside but he doubted they'd be able to stop the Darkblade.

"Get inside!" Vell grabbed Toland and threw him into the Temple. Omar caught him before he could hit the ground. Toland immediately turned around, "Vell, get inside!" He jumped up to reach for him but was tossed back and held down, "What the hell are you doing, Agah?!" Omar didn't answer. Just kept his hold on Toland. He was staring at Vell again.

Vell suddenly extended his long arms, grasping each door and with started to force the doors to close from the outside. "Vell, what the fuck are you doing? You'll be trapped!" Toland yelled.

Vell did not respond. The Thrall had started coming back towards the Temple, trying to get inside. The Thrall swarmed him to the point where he could not be seen. Eris, Sai and Eriana did everything they could to clear them off but there were just too many. Even with the weight of a hundred Thrall on his back, Vell kept pushing the doors close, roaring with exertion. There were too many and more seemed to be coming out of thin air.

"The Wizard! The Wizard is spawning them! Take her down!" Eriana roared. With one arm still around Toland's neck, Omar molded his Light into a Golden Gun, putting all his energy to one shot. Sai and Eris did the same, all three firing. At the same time, Eriana cast a large Nova Bomb in the direction. The Ascendant Hive Wizard screamed from within the explosion it caused. Whether from pain or from rage was unclear.

Alak Hul was much more evident with how he felt. He charged towards the team of Guardians, who continued to fire on him.

"Vell, forget the doors. Come on!" Toland ordered. Alak Hul was getting closer and Verok was spawning more and more Thrall and setting them on him. Vell's knees buckled slightly from the weight but through it all, the doors continued to close.

Toland finally broke free from Omar's hold on him, "Get inside!" He made a run for him, with Omar right on his heels. As he got closer to Vell, he saw something that made his heart sink into his stomach.

Vell was glowing.

"Vell. Vell, what are you planning?"

The light from the Titan became intense. "No! Don't do it!"

"Don't do what? Toland, what is he doing?!" Sai yelled.

"VELL, NO!"

The light retreated and suddenly burst outward. The force of the explosion knocked Toland backwards, allowing Omar to get ahold of him again. Any Hive near Vell disappeared, incinerated completely by the explosion of pure Light. The force of the blast was so powerful, Alak-Hul was forced to the ground and Verok disappeared, hurt by the intense Light. Toland could just barely see through the blinding Light. Vell was no longer surrounded by Thrall and the doors were closing on their own. Vell was bent backward from exerting so much Light from his body. The Titan fell forward to his knees and what they saw made even Eriana gasp.

His helmet. It was gone.

The doors were still closing. Injured, Alak-Hul slowly stomped up behind him. He paused once he reached Vell's back, undoubtedly angered at the massacre of his mate's spawn. When he hefted his massive blade up into the air, Toland's struggling against Omar's grip became violent.

"Vell, please hurry! No, let me go! VELL!"

Toland was roaring so loudly, the speakers cracked. He watched in horror as the breath visibly left Vell's lungs. Vell strained to face his team, his eyes bulging and his throat straining as he instinctively tried to pull in oxygen that wasn't there. He only had the energy to mouth one last thing. " _Tell them. Please_."

Toland finally broke free from Omar's grip. He entered Radiance and manifested the Nova Bomb, but it was too late. The doors slammed shut with a resounding crash.

The Nova Bomb disappeared and Toland was absolutely numb with shock. The only thing he could feel was his entire world fall apart as the Darkblade gave a mighty roar…

and his axe crashed into the ground.

* * *

 _Tell me what you think_


	27. Calm Before the Storm

_Calm Before The Storm_

* * *

"One more!" Crona called to the frame behind the bar. She reconsidered, "Make it two!"

A large blue hand snatched one of the drinks up just as it was placed down, "Lay off, little girl. Before I call your father down here." Shino downed the drink before moving back to the couch with Mira, Daniel and Erek.

"I'm 22!" Crona yelled, "And you're welcome for the drink! Fucking jerk."

"Really? Seemed like a nice guy."

Crona turned at the voice, "Oh. Um, Aveline right?"

The Awoken's dark brown eyes lit up with a smile, "Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all. You come alone?"

"Josef is right there." She pointed to the short man greeting the others and nodding at her, "Are you drunk already?"

Crona laughed, "I'm getting there. You should see Shino. Cannot hold his alcohol for shit. He's had to be carried out of this place multiple times."

Aveline turned, "Really? Him? I don't believe you. He's like 6'5!"

"6'8." She corrected, "And nearly 300lbs. He's got less tolerance than his tiny Warlock teammate. Speaking of Warlocks, where's Aro?" She looked around, "Where's all of them? Your leader is missing too."

"Aashir requested all of them. He requested Sora but she's in the Cosmodrome right now."

"Any clue why?" Crona turned to face her friends on the couch.

"None." Aveline reached up and pulled the pin out of her and let it fall down to her back, "He doesn't tell us anything he doesn't think we need to know."

"Seems more like your boss than your friend."

"Well I consider him a friend, whether he does or not. But forget him. I've been meaning to catch this match." She pointed to the TV, set on the Crucible. Her Ghost appeared circling their heads before heading towards the the group on the couch, "Oh, meet Samira."

"So did your Ghost tell you it can change appearance or did you figure it out?" Crona asked as she watched it. Aveline's Ghost was a dark gold color with white lines branching from its eye.

"That's the Iron Banner shell. Has to be earned." Aveline answered.

"Iron Banner? From the old man right?"

"Old man? You mean…Lord Saladin right?" Aveline was slightly taken aback by the informality.

"Yeah, my brother calls him grandfather. I call him old man. I've known him for a while."

"I can tell! Hold on…" Aveline cupped her hands over her mouth, "Whoo! Take it off!" she yelled when Josef stood to remove his jacket, whistling for added effect. Crona couldn't hold back the laughter for long. Shino and Mira didn't even try. Josef just shook his head, looking amused.

"He hates when I do that." Aveline told her, "So I basically have to do it. Like every time." She picked up the drink she ordered.

"Soooo what? Are you two together?"

"Why?" The glass paused, "You interested?"

"What? No, no, I'm not interested in him!" She whispered so he wouldn't hear.

"I meant me!" She feigned outrage.

Crona gaped and the blush started creeping up her neck.

Aveline laughed and finished the drink, "I'm joking. No we're not together. Josef's my brother."

"What? Like adopted? Foster?"

"Nope. Twin."

"But…" she looked back and forth between the Awoken woman and the Human man, "How…"

"Our mother was an Awoken Guardian. A Titan. Our father was a Human immigrant from a colony in Central America. You've never wondered how I have brown eyes and he has bright blue?"

"Well Mira has grey and she's slightly darker than him so…"

"Good point. And her team is May and Muscles over there."

Crona started laughing again, "Shino."

"And where is that green Exo of yours? Uh…" she snapped her fingers, trying to remember his name.

Crona's smile fell, "Asura."

"Yeah, him. Something wrong?"

Crona let out a deep breath, "It's just some…personal things."

"Does it have to do with his past?"

"He was a Herald. And he succeeded. But it's a bit more than that."

Aveline looked at her for a while. She then hopped off the bar, "You can tell me later then. Let's join the others."

* * *

"I'm not seeing anything in this data. No energy spikes. No abnormal enemy movements. Nothing." May said. She was struggling to stay awake.

"No recent reports from the Hunter scouts either. Just a few Warlocks feeling a strange presence. But that's been the case for years now." Kayla added.

"Sora said something drew her to the Temple. She wasn't ordered to go there." Aashir said. His golden Ghost silently flew around Aro's head, observing him.

Aro ignored it, "If it has anything to do with the Hive, then it was something dark."

"Dark things don't draw Guardians." Aashir said gruffly, staring at a holographic image of the Temple of Crota.

May let out a breath, "Then what was it?"

"Sora said she wasn't sure herself. How should I know?"

May didn't respond. She just looked at Aro, who shrugged. They hadn't been there two hours and Aashir made it obvious he wasn't interested in getting to know them or even being nice. But if he's as good at what he does as Ikora said he was, he was worth keeping around. Between all members of the clan, they've fought the Heralds four times and have barely escaped with their lives. Having three Rank Four's around wouldn't hurt.

A knock against the wall tore all of them away from their work. Aro stood, "Daniel? What are you doing here?"

"I'd like to know too." Aashir grumbled loudly, without turning from the hologram.

Daniel just gave him a look. "Have any of you seen Asura?" He then asked, "Everyone's asking about him."

"He probably just needed some time alone. Personal things. We'll discuss it later, we're on to something right now."

Daniel looked up at the image of the Temple of Crota, "What is it?"

"If you must know…" Aashir said, obviously aggravated, "We're trying to find why Fireteam Katrina was anywhere near that Temple.

"Sora detected an anomaly." Kayla finished, "We're trying to find out what it is."

Daniel stared at the image for some time, "Sora too huh?" He whispered under his breath.

"What?"

He looked at Aro, "Sora isn't the first person I've heard "sense" something coming from the Moon."

"Who else?" Aashir asked.

"My younger sister."

"The premature Guardian? How is she able to sense…whatever it is?"

"Her name is Maya Suros." Daniel stated, an edge growing in his voice, "And she's always had some connection to the Traveler. But it's only ever been the Traveler. Something's up there and to her it feels…sick. Twisted. But whatever it is, it feels like the Traveler. It started the night after Vell and the others left for the Moon."

The room just stared at him. He shrugged, "Her words. I gave her the same look."

"Any input, May?" Kayla asked. The Awoken Warlock hadn't spoken in some time.

"I need some time to piece everything together. But I feel I'm on to something…"

"Then there's nothing more we can do here." Aashir declared, heading for the door. His Ghost followed him and disappeared. Before leaving, he turned and said, "We need to see your sister, Daniel. Bring her up here soon. Within the week." And without waiting for a response, he left.

Daniel watched him go before turning to the others, "Was he elected leader in the few hours I was gone?"

"No. Just second in command." Kayla shook her head and started shutting off the computers.

"What? Why him?" Daniel looked at Aro.

"He's the most experienced here. He's not the nicest guy…"

"Nicest?" May jumped down from the ledge, "He's an ass. Mira would have been a much better second."

"You the one told me she wouldn't be up for it!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what I said." May scratched the back of her neck, "She has the ability but ever since what happened to Marie, she's always doubted herself. She just hides it well."

" _Very_ well." Daniel said.

May let out a tired sigh, "Fighting Greed really brought those memories back for her. First time I've heard her cry since her death."

Aro fell silent. Daniel had told him the story some time ago and he passed it on to Crona and Asura. If they felt any pain or guilt from the situation, they hid it well behind a facade of jokes and smiles.

"But Erek came out, right?" He asked, "How's he doing?"

Daniel smiled warmly, "You can come see for yourself. C'mon, you heard the ass. Nothing left you can do and you all look like you could go for a drink."

May perked up, "You buying?"

"I didn't say that."

"Well someone needs to say it. What's the point of having rich friends if they don't buy you things?"

* * *

 _S/O to doomforzombies for the Iron Banner shell idea._


	28. Gluttony the Voidwalker Part IV

_Several upcoming major deaths._

* * *

 _Gluttony the Voidwalker Part IV_

* * *

Omar stood atop the small hill, using his Sniper scope to scout around the dark before sliding back down, "Nothing. This area seems completely clear." He reported to Eriana, "The real question is where this place is."

"Toland?" Eriana called. The Warlock didn't answer. He was sitting on the ground, facing away from the group with Eris across from him, "Toland-"

"I heard you."

"We need to know where we are."

"I don't know and I-

"No." Eriana interrupted, shaking her head, "Don't give me that, Toland."

"And I truly _truly_ don't care." He finished, lifting his head up slightly.

"You can't be serious, Toland." Eriana growled. "You're a soldier! You see people die daily!"

"Vell was different."

"You think you're the first to lose a teammate? Sai and I lost Wei-Ning. Omar lost both of his!"

"Vell Tarlowe was much more than my teammate." Toland started to stand, "You know good and damn fucking well what he meant to me! Do you really think I didn't see you looking at us before we left?"

Eriana lowered her voice, "We need to continue the mission. We can't waste the chance Vell gave us."

"The mission, the mission. Always about the fucking mission!" Toland suddenly erupted, "Do you not realize what has happened? We were ambushed! They knew we were coming. They know we're still coming! You're going to get the rest of us killed!"

"Are you saying this is my fault?!"

"Vell has always been a dutiful man. Honor bound. He died for your sake. For this blasted attempt at revenge! _Your_ blasted attempt at revenge! So yes, Eriana-3, he's dead because of you! I blame you!"

Eriana's gun suddenly came up. She was shaking. Sai was attempting to calm her down and Eris was pushing Toland backwards. "Go ahead, Eriana. Shoot me." He held his arms out stretched, "Shoot me! I'll even take my helmet off, make it an easier target! C'mon!" He roared, "SHOOT ME!"

Eriana's gun slowly came down. Toland sank to his knees with Eris on top of him, her body wracked with sobs. His own tears fell, "Kill me. Please."

Eriana holstered her gun on her back, "We'll spend a few minutes." She ordered gruffly, "Pull yourself together, Toland." She walked off. Sai quickly followed.

Omar slowly walked to face Toland. He was twiddling his fingers, a nervous habit, "Toland? Fo…for what it's worth, I'm sorry. He…he asked me-"

"Yes, I figured that. Omar…" Toland looked up to see Omar shaking.

The man suddenly fell to his knees, sobbing, "I'm-I'm sorry Toland. I'm so sorry."

Toland stared at him for a long time, a million thoughts running through his mind. He placed a hand on Omar's shoulder, smiling warmly, "Vell really does know me well. He'd knew I'd tried to save him. Omar, there's nothing to forgive. I owe you my life."

"Toland. Do you know what was that he did? You started panicking once you saw it." Eris asked softly. She was hiding it but she was struggling with this too.

Toland interlaced his armored hand over hers. He looked up when he heard Eriana and Sai returning. "It's called, at least it was named Cleansing Light, by Osiris. Available only to those who have acquired Radiant Light. It clears an area of all Darkness."

"It's a suicide move?" Sai asked as she and Eriana had returned.

"No. It isn't supposed to be. It shouldn't have killed him."

"What?" Omar said, standing, "Then why did it?!"

"Vell didn't use it correctly. It requires Arc, Void and Solar; all three elements of Light. Long ago, all Guardians had access to all three but not anymore. And it's meant to come from three Guardians. Not just one. That's why the first Vanguard imposed the rule of three."

"I've never heard of anything like this, Toland." Eriana said, "Where did Vell learn it?"

Toland looked towards the ground, "I told him about it."

"Could…could we have saved him?"

Toland shook his head, "Because he tried to do it himself, he had to draw Light from his Ghost. Without it, even if we had saved him, he wouldn't have lasted much longer down here."

" _Wouldn't he?"_

Toland's head snapped up, "What?"

"What, what?" Eriana said.

"Did one of you say something?"

The four looked amongst themselves, denying that any of them might have spoken.

" _For fuck's sake, not now."_ He thought. He was slipping again.

" _Do you really think you couldn't have saved him? Do you really think he wouldn't have survived down here without a Ghost?_ _Where's your own Ghost, Toland?"_

Toland had been hearing voices inside his head for a while now. This was the first coherent one, " _Who are you?"_

" _I asked you a question, Toland."_

" _Vell would never agree to something like that."_

The voice gave out a low, rumbling laugh, " _Speaking for the dead now, are we?"_

" _Who the hell are you? Are you the one who's been in my head all these years?_

" _You've been conversing with the Deep. Not me."_

" _The Deep? You mean the Darkness?"_

The voice laughed again, " _Different things have different titles across different cultures. Please, Toland, this isn't the time to play dumb."_

The voice was inhumanly deep and had a baleful pressure behind it. But it had an incredibly human wit to it. Who the hell was he talking to? And why was he so intrigued?

" _I can give you what you want, Toland. Knowledge. Power. But you'll have to find me. Who knows? You might even see Vell again."_

" _What?!"_

"Toland?" Eris snapped him out of his trance, "Are you alright?"

He shook his head, "What? Yeah, yes I'm fine."

" _Liar."_

"I'm fine." He repeated.

" _You're talking to voices in your head, Toland."_

"Just trying to find out where we are." Toland said, " _Will you keep quiet and let me think?!"_

"… _Rude."_

Toland stood, looking out across the dark, " _Who are you?"_

" _You're looking in the right direction. Come find out. I'll give you everything you could ever want, Toland. Just come to me. I'll be waiting."_

The presence receded and Toland was left with thoughts that were frightening him. Was he really…

"Toland. Where next?" Eriana asked

"This way." Toland decided, "We go this way."

* * *

"OMAR? OMAR!"

Toland grabbed Eris before she could run in the direction of his screams, "We can't reach him!"

Toland had never heard a worse sound in his life. It scratched and rended his heart, to hear the man in so much pain and not be able to save him. The Hive. They had found them. They had cornered him and were ripping the Light from his body. Getting to him mattered little. Omar was a dead man. They'd only be caught up in it.

" _No, no! This wasn't supposed to happen!"_ Toland searched frantically for a way out for himself and the last three. They were being blocked from returning to their ships by a powerful barrier. Crota was no longer an option. Survival was barely a possibility.

A Hive army, led by a large Wizard covered in a blue Arc shield. With each terrible screech came a flash of green light and with each flash, more and more Hive manifested to chase them down.

Toland just kept running, desperately searching for a way to safety and leaving Eriana and Sai to pick up the rear. Without looking behind him, he could hear the angry crackle of Arc lightning and the deafening roar of Solar flames breaking through the wave of Hive on their tail. Any Hive blocking their way was summarily shot down or reduced to nothing by Eris and Toland.

"Where is it? Where is it?!" Toland frantically looked around for a way to the voice. Its presence still lingered and pointed in one direction. Right into a dead end. "A door. Maybe its a door." He smashed hard into the black wall, desperately pushing against it. Panic was starting to overtake his mind. First Vell, then Omar. They were being picked off one by one.

Another hideous screech followed by another green spark. The Wizard was summoning more and more Hive.

" _Get down!"_ Eris pulled him to the ground as a violet beam of light splashed against the wall. Brandishing her knife, Eris disappeared from sight. Sai sheathed her own, manifested the Golden Gun and fired off three shots. The Ogre on their tail flinched from the blast, turning towards and coming after the Hunter. She kept shooting at it, switching to a different weapon without reloading when her current one ran dry. The monster continued to mindlessly stomp after her.

Toland felt against the wall, looking for a break in the wall, a crack, anything. " _Where are you?! You led me here! Let us in!"_

The entire cavern quaked. The Ogre had reached her, raised its rotting arms and slammed down. Toland looked behind him, preparing to run for Sai's Ghost. She was instead running towards him and Eriana, having Blinked out of the way just in time. The Ogre turned in their direction, only to suddenly fall back, screaming in pain. Eris reappeared on top of its head, plunging her Arc Saber deep into its many eyes. It's roars shook the entire temple as it thrashed around to throw her off.

Sai aimed her Rocket Launcher, "Eris, let go!" she yelled as she fired. Eris ripped her knife out of the monster's head and Blinked away. The explosion pushed her farther away when the missile collided. Sai fired again, reducing the Ogre to ash.

Toland could feel the ground shaking. They all could. More were coming for them.

"Eriana, what do we do?" Sai heaved, drawing her knife again. She could barely stand. Toland could almost feel her overheating from exertion.

"At this point…" Eriana force pushed a Thrall away, "At this point, just make them work for it."

The Wizard appeared again, pointing a twisted claw at the Guardians back against the wall and setting even more spawn on the team. Sai stared at it for just a second longer before making a mad dash for it. Arc Saber brandished, Sai stabbed through the monster's shield and sank deep into its chest. She then discharged all the energy inside of her. The Wizard screamed even louder than before as Sai continued electrocuting it. Toland could hear Eriana and Eris yelling her name as they tried to reach her. The Hive might as well have been a solid wall.

The Wizard raised its arms and grabbed Sai, ripping her away and throwing her into the wall. Eriana's attempts to reach her became more and more frantic. Barely conscious from the impact and loss of energy, Sai slipped out of the crater she created in the wall and fell to the ground. Without touching her, the Wizard stopped Sai's descent and lifted her back up.

Sai suddenly let out a scream that chilled Toland to the bone. It was just like Omar. Wisps of Light drifted out from the Hunter and into the Wizard, who absorbed it greedily.

" _SAI!"_ Eriana kept shooting through the Hive to get to her. Sai's screaming had stopped just seconds after it started, no longer having the energy to make a sound. Her body just silently shook in the air as her very Light was ripped away from her. Eriana kept screaming her name. When her gun ran dry, she used it to bash the Hive aside. When the gun fell from her hands, she simply resigned to blowing them up with her mind alone. Eris tried to follow but to no avail.

The Wizard released her body and retreated into the dark. She slowly fell to the ground, tattered cape ripping off and floating away. Eriana caught her before she hit the ground, Toland could do nothing but watch Eriana shake as she held her teammate's lifeless body. Her Ghost materialized above her before dropping to the ground, its glowing eye going dark.

Toland felt the walls give away from his hand. He turned towards the wall. Small rays of dull light shone through as It slowly opened.

Just as the doors had opened enough to let them through, a massive explosion behind him regained his attention. Eriana had entered Radiance and was screaming in unrestrained rage. The pitch black of the Temple was replaced by a brilliant torrent of Solar Light. Eriana waved her arms in large sweeping motions, the flames following her movements. the Hive collectively roared and screamed in return, the front lines being burnt away by the massive firestorm Eriana-3 had started. Neither he and Eris could get close to her.

Eriana rarely fought at full strength. Toland had personally only seen her a few times. But when she stopped holding back, she was a man-made creation turned into a force of nature. She knew she wasn't walking away from this fight. But she'd be damned if she didn't take these monsters with her.

Eris kept trying to move towards her, using her arms to shield her eyes. Toland started after her before a low rumble caused him to turn around.

"No...no, no, _NO!"_ The doors were closing. He ran at them, putting himself in between in an attempt to keep them open. He pushed with all his strength, feeling no sign of the door giving slowing down. The panic was returning. Eriana was still too far away, shielded by a wall of fire. The stronger creatures of the Hive who could resist the flames were pushing closer. Eriana and Eris would soon be overwhelmed. It didn't matter. Eris was still willing to risk all to reach her friend.

" _Our friend. She's our friend",_ Toland solemnly told himself. Despite everything that had happened, despite all of his mistakes, she was still his friend too. Admitting that to himself only made what he was about to do even more difficult.

Toland ran out from between the closing door, getting as close to Eris as he possibly could.

He grabbed her arm and pulled started heading back towards the door in a combination of running and Blinking whenever he could. Eris yanked against him frantically in protest. Toland simply tightened his grip. He Blinked the both of them through the closing doors, rolling to a stop on the other side.

The doors slammed shut. Still on the ground, Toland took one last look behind him.

No light shone through the wall. No sounds could be heard and no tremors could be felt.

The flames. Eriana's beautiful flames. They were gone. And so was she.

* * *

 _Sorry for the late update. Just got Dragon Age: Inquisition and I kinda we_ _nt on a week long bender._

 _I've also started a SoundCloud playlist based on this series. User name is Death the Kid and the playlist will be updated as I add the songs to the story._


	29. Gluttony the Voidwalker Part V

_Gluttony the Voidwalker Part V_

* * *

Toland roughly coughed to catch his breath, his entire body on fire. Besides the ringing in his ears, everything was quiet. Everything was dark. He looked to the door again. The only sounds were the Hive retreating. They had done what they had came to do.

He propped himself up on his hands and knees, "Eris?" he called, "Eris?!"

Toland was suddenly knocked several feet away by a jarring strike to the head, " _YOU BASTARD!"_ Eris roared, kicking him again.

"Eris, fuck! Will you calm down?!"

" _YOU LEFT HER! YOU LEFT THEM!"_ Eris continued, delivering a another brutal kick to the side of his head.

Toland shot to his feet, " _I SAVED YOU!"_ He caught her hands as they hurtled towards him, hoping to restrain her, "I wasn't about to let both of you die!"

Eris pushed him off. She walked backwards as if in a daze, stumbled and fell against the wall, shaking, "They're gone. All of them. They're all gone."

It was obvious but he still hasn't admitted it to himself. He thought he had become numb from losing Vell. But when he thought of Omar's, Sai's and Eriana's screams of agony and rage. Vell's sacrifice. All for nothing. He remained silent, listening to Eris cry, unable to find the words to comfort her.

He stood and proceeded to look around. The chamber was large. That much was obvious. A single large green crystal hung from the ceiling, much like a chandelier. It provided very little light.

He looked back at Eris. She was still against the wall, folded up into a ball. She wasn't crying anymore. She was completely broken. Toland made up his mind. The mission was a failure. He needed to get her home. They both needed to go home.

" _You're leaving? So soon?"_

That voice.

" _You?! You led us here!"_

" _Incorrect. I asked you to come. You came on your own accord. Don't pin your friends' deaths on me."_ It was as smooth and nonchalant as it always was.

Toland wondered if he appeared as enraged as he actually was, " _We're leaving."_

" _If you want. I'm on my way either way."_

Toland felt it. Something was coming. He had felt this the last time he was on the Moon. It was dark but it was also what he had been looking for a very long time. The voice was right. He couldn't leave. Not yet.

"Listen to me, Eris. Please." He reached into the pouch on his belt and pulled out a large brown ring. He waved his hand over it and the ring blazed to life with strange fire. An emerald fire similar to…

"What the fuck is that, Toland?" Eris Morn backed away.

"Stay close to me! It's a bond. A Warlock bond I created." Toland opened the flaming ring and closed it over her arm. The flames licked her armor but otherwise did not burn. She shook her head, "Toland, what is going on?"

"Listen to me." He grabbed her helmet, forcing her to look at him, "I'm not leaving here. Not alive."

"What?! Toland-"

"No, please just listen." He stopped her. This was already difficult, "I created this bond in case I ever needed to come down here, It'll hide you from them. They'll believe you are one of their own. And that is the only way. The only way you'll live to go home. The only way you'll be able to keep our promise to Vell!"

She grabbed his arm, "You could stay with me! We could escape together!"

He softly pulled away, shaking his head and backing away. She reached for him again, "Toland…" He could hear the sob in her voice.

"No…"

"Please..." she begged.

The presence was getting closer, "Eris, run while you can!"

" _TOLAND!"_

" _GO!"_ He roared so loudly, his entire body shook.

She stood for a second later before spinning in her heel and running in the opposite direction, kicking up dust behind her. She ran and ran, her figure becoming smaller and smaller until not even the emerald glow of the bond could be seen. He could still hear her ragged breathing, even as he felt their tether snap.

"Get home." He whispered. A single tear fell from his eyes as he thought of Vell's last words, " _Tell them. Please_."

He sighed. _It_ was here. "I've been looking for you." Toland whispered after disabling his comms, "Ir Yût."

The abnormally large Hive Wizard simply floated above him. It wasn't who had been talking to him but it found him all the same. It opened its mouth and let out a low hum that shook the entire chamber. Toland could feel it inside of him. His head, his stomach, his heart.

The song suddenly spiked, ringing louder and louder inside of his head. He could not hear his own thoughts, his own breathing or his own heartbeat. He wasn't sure he was still even alive.

Either way, he had never felt more alive. The Death Song. It was everything he had hoped it was. He could feel himself ripping in half as the song became impossibly loud.

Toland dropped to the ground with a morbid smile beneath his cracking helmet, the world falling away from him. The song reached its peak…

And everything went silent.

* * *

Toland's eyes shot open. He quickly looked around him, breathing hard.

He was still in the same place. The Hive chamber on the Moon. The memories started coming back to him. Eris running. The Wizard. The song.

He grabbed at his throbbing head and froze at what he felt. Hair. His helmet was gone. But he was breathing. At least it felt like he was.

"Good. You're awake."

Toland spun towards the voice so quickly, he fell down and scrambled backwards before freezing in place.

The voice spoke again, "So you recognize me?"

"You?! Where are you?!" Toland roared. He touched his mouth, "How am I talking? How can I hear you? How…how am I alive?"

"Because of me." The voice answered in a nonchalant tone, "You don't need to breathe anymore. But your body doesn't realize it yet. It probably never will. Mine has but then again, I've been at this for a while."

Toland squinted and drew closer to the voice. In the pitch black, he could just barely make out a figure sitting cross legged atop a ledge in the wall, looking down at him. He appeared human. Or at least humanoid. But there was a pressure coming from him. Not the pressure that made his stomach crawl like Darkness Zones usually did. This one made it difficult to breathe, if he needed to. As if there was a boot on top of him, slowly pushing to his knees.

He was hooded. Toland was unsure if he was covered in all black or if it was the lack of light.

The man's finer details could not be seen. But one thing stood out from under his hood. A single red eye, shining through the nothingness.

Toland stepped backwards and bumped into what felt like a human wall. With a surprised yelp, He swung his arm back only to have it caught midway to the creature's face.

It was an Exo. A very tall and broad one with similar red eyes. Aside from the red eyes, the Exo seemed very familiar.

"Kabr? You're Kabr, aren't you?"

He let go of Toland's arm but otherwise did not speak.

"That's not his name. Not anymore."

Toland struggled to clear his head, so he could think clearly for a second, "What do you mean, "not anymore"? What is his name?"

"I like to call him Wrath. You should've seen him in the Vault." The hooded man laughed, "The name fit perfectly."

"Wrath? So you were Kabr? You died in the Vault?"

"Just like you died here." The hooded man said.

Wrath still didn't speak. He simply nodded.

"But then you were dead. You and Pahanin went in the Vault-" Toland was unable to finish his sentence. Kabr's or Wrath's massive arm came up and clamped around his throat. Toland instinctively gasped for air he no longer needed, clawing at Wrath's hand. Wrath's red eyes were glowing and a white mist lifted from his mouth.

"He's still touchy about that." A voice chuckled dryly. It wasn't the hooded man,"Makes him madder when you forget to mention the third member of his team."

"Wrath. Let him go." The hooded man commanded. Wrath obeyed without question or hesitation.

Toland wanted to inquire further about this "third" but decided to leave it alone. Toland looked around for the second voice. Only then did he notice two more pairs of red eyes staring down at him from behind the hooded man. One pair flashed him a toothy grin that seemed anything but friendly. The other simply watched him. Both were disturbingly familiar.

"Why are you here?" Toland asked, "What do you want with me?"

"I've been watching you. For a long time now. You're useful to my purposes. So I brought you back."

Toland was growing wary, "What purpose would that be?"

A set of bright white teeth appeared under the hood, "Many, many things." His tone told Toland he wouldn't be elaborating.

"And if I disagree?"

"You would've never come here in the first place. You would've died with the others or would be running like your Hunter friend. I promised you knowledge. Power. And you accepted. Without even inquiring the price."

Toland's head lowered.

"Tell me. Her song. What was it like?"

"It was…everything I thought it was. It's like the song bonded to the essence of my life and when it ended…so did I."

"You listened a Deathsinger's song and here you are. Still alive. Imagine being able to listen to it anytime you want."

"So what, I can't die now?"

"You very well can. It just take a lot more to kill you now. Being able to dissect it, find out why it works the way it does, find out why she can sing it and walk away unharmed while leaving behind a field of corpses." He slid off the ledge and land hard on the ground, "Do you still remember when your Ghost first resurrected you?"

"Yes. I do."

"You gave it a name. And in return, it gave you one." The man raised his arms, "Think of me as your new Ghost. You were dead. I brought you back. And now I get to name you."

"Name me? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

"I have a name."

"Toland died. Right where you are standing." Just like whoever you were before, died right where your Ghost found you. You've accepted the deal. I give you what you've been craving for a long time now, you work for me." He brought up a gloved hand, "Now I'm finalizing it. Do we have a deal?"

Toland stared at the large outstretched hand. What price was he supposed to pay? And given everything he just experienced, would the rewards be worth it? Complete understanding of the Hive and all the powers at their disposal. Finally realizing the true nature of the Darkness. And maybe, just maybe, seeing Vell again. One way or another.

He was still waiting, arm patiently outstretched, never wavering. Toland was done thinking. He raised his own hand and clasped it into the black gloved one, grasping tightly.

Nothing could've prepared him for what came next. He fell and dropped to the ground, thrashing and screaming until he was spewing up pure blood; blood that froze once it touched the cold Lunar ground.

His entire being was on fire. Wisps of Light began lifting out of his body. The ethereal strands lifted up as if they would leave but suddenly became a dark greenish black before forcing its way back into him, only adding to his agony.

He grabbed his head again, the pain becoming more and more unbearable. He could feel his body contorting in impossible ways. He screams were more reminiscent of a monster; it didn't even sound like him anymore. Black sparks of lightning arched off of him, lighting up the cavern.

And then, everything went quiet. Toland was curled into a ball on the ground, shaking. A gloved hand appeared above him. He slowly lifted his heavy arm reached out for it.

He screamed at what he saw.

His arm. It didn't belong to him. It couldn't have. The appendage was a rotting gray, with a mix of brown and dark purple, his five fingers twisted into three long sharp claws.

The hooded man reached out and grabbed him anyway. With just one arm, he threw the panicking Warlock against a boulder. The rock lit up a dull white the second he touched it and Toland watched in shock as his mutated arm changed back to normal.

"Your…previous experiments are catching up to you. There are more to the voices in your head than you originally thought." The man kneeled in front of him. Wrath and the other two simply watched them.

The man pointed above Toland's head, "This is a shard of the Traveler. Fell off during the Collapse. Right now, it's the only thing keeping you from losing control. So I'll watch over it until you regain some control but then it'll be your responsibility. It seems you are more monster than man now."

The man opened his hand, a white ball of energy manifesting, and pushed it closer to Toland's face. Toland shied back slightly but looked closer. It was him. His face at least. Nothing had changed. Anything that had been warped was back to normal.

The only thing different were his eyes. Now as red and cold as the one looking back at him.

"Open your hand. Create a flame for me."

He obeyed. But nothing occurred. He tried again. Same result.

"Try to form a contained void. Keep it small."

Toland placed one hand over the other and concentrated again. The familiar purple sphere sparked and grew slowly inside his hand.

"That's what I expected." The man rose to his full height; taller than Toland, "Gluttony. That'll be your name. Gluttony the Voidwalker. The man or should I say, the beast, with a hunger to match the Void itself. How appropriate." He snapped his fingers. The shard suddenly lifted off the ground. Toland gaped at the two Hive Knights carrying it away. Was he commanding them?

"You'll learn to do that very soon. For now, let's move."

Toland stood as the hooded figure walked towards the wall. "What's your name?" Toland's throat was raw and his voice hoarse, "What do I call you?"

The smirk was evident in the person's voice, he waved his hand, beckoning all the others to follow, "Later. We've got one more person to pick up while we're here."

* * *

Gluttony's eyes sprang open. He regretted trying to sleep. After all this time, he still struggled to accept his new nature. He really would never get used to this.

Greed wasn't around to distract him and he did not want to be alone with his own thoughts.

Because they were talking again. And they were telling him something was very wrong.

* * *

 _Nearing the end. I've been itching to move on to Book 3._


	30. Chamber of Night

_In case anyone was wondering, Aashir's name is pronounced Ah-sheer._

* * *

 _Chamber of Night_

* * *

"This is all…very, very interesting." Ikora said quietly, circling the table.

"It's crazy!" Cayde exploded, "Don't sugarcoat it. Call it what it is!"

"Please calm down, Cayde."

"I AM CALM!"

Trying not to smile, Aro watched them go back and forth, an unamused Aashir to his right. Daniel had managed to get Tarlowe's permission bring Maya in and get the information they needed, with Aro acting as the middle man for the brothers who refused to talk. Maya was just happy to see him in person again.

The price for the oldest Suros' permission was uncomfortably high. He wasn't sure he could tell Daniel about it. Not until he's talked to the Vanguard at least. He'd lose his mind.

"Maya Suros did not feel anything different about the Moon until after her uncle and his fireteam left and died. It drew her and yet repulsed her. And now, Katrina and her team enter the area, for the same reason I might add, only to attacked by a former member of that very fireteam?" Ikora argued, "There is something down there, it is connected to them and we need to know what it is!"

"We send anyone, absolutely ANYONE, down there and they are dead! No ifs, ands or buts about it. We denied the Heralds the lives of not just Fireteam Katrina but Fireteam Mira. And that was by the skin of their teeth or I guess in Jessie's case, paint." Cayde waved his arm, "My point is they will not be nearly as merciful as they were last time."

"There is someone…" The Speaker spoke up. He was looking directly at Aro. Zavala, who was quietly watching the exchange, perked up, "No."

"Commander, I thought we settled this last year."

"Not wanting to risk my daughter is one thing." He said, "But sending them down there, we might as well hand the key to our destruction over to them. They tried to kill his team and take him!"

"Do you plan to keep them cooped in this Tower forever?"

"It's an option."

"Would there be a way to hide them from the gaze of the Heralds? I'm worried about how they seem to keep predicting our plans." Ikora wondered, "They knew about our attempt to help Rasputin and our attack on Sepiks Prime on Earth last year, our second attempt to help Rasputin on Mars this year, the expedition to the World's Grave on the Moon as well as Fireteam Katrina's breach into the Temple of Crota."

"Do you think someone is giving them information?" The Speaker asked.

"I can't be sure."

The thought had already been planted in Aro's head. Why hadn't he seen it before?

" _Who could it be?_ " He asked his Ghost internally, " _Rasputin? Wrath? Or even Xur? He knows about me. "_

" _Rasputin and Wrath(A) have made it pretty obvious that they are against the Heralds. Xur is...unlikely."_

"Aro?" Aashir pushed him roughly, snapping him out of his thoughts. The Speaker was calling his name.

"Yes sir?"

"We are deferring this to you and your team. What do you think?"

"Umm…"

"If I may speak?" Aashir gruff tone interrupted.

"Of course."

"I have been examining the telemetry from the Ghosts of all those who have faced the Heralds. Each planned attack was organized and direct. This may hint to inside knowledge into our plans."

"What are you getting at?" Cayde asked.

"Each attack was organized except for the one on Fireteam Katrina. They all describe being ambushed and overwhelmed and that the Heralds and Hive showed up after they had entered the area and after they managed to break open the door. I believe the Heralds only knew about what was happening after it did. And were acting desperately."

"Still not seeing the point." Cayde sighed.

"Out of all their attempted opposition to our expeditions, only Fireteam Katrina's mission was technically unsanctioned and unrecorded. They were sent to investigate the area. Not open the door."

"You believe they would have been left alone had they not opened the door." Ikora realized.

"An alarm that alerts them if the door is opened? Has it been closed?" Zavala asked.

"Scout reports have said no." Cayde brought up a picture of the Temple. The doors were still wide open.

"Can they be closed again at all? They must have done something special to connect it to themselves." Ikora wondered

"We don't have time to worry about that. In light of Aashir's analysis, I change my mind. I say we send Fireteam Aro and Fireteam Aro alone down into the Temple to find whatever they are keeping down there and destroy it if necessary. Maybe just maybe, we can finally strike a blow against these monsters."

"With all due respect sir, wouldn't you rather send me and my team down there?" Aashir suggested.

"They will not kill Aro. They will gladly kill you." Aashir seemed slightly put off.

Zavala looked at Aro, "What do you say? You and your team are the ones risking your lives and you now lead this clan. This is up to you."

" _A blow against the Heralds? Maybe even taking down one of them?"_ Kain asked.

" _Is it worth the risk? I'd have to ask Crona and Asura-"_

"I have actually been communing with Sol and Spirit, Crona's and Asura's Ghosts, and they have agreed with the your plans." Kain announced out aloud, "Aro is the deciding vote."

Aro let out a long breath, "Then I decide yes as well. We'll go. When would we leave?"

"Tomorrow." The Speaker decided, "The Heralds will most likely appear. And this time ready to kill. Are you ready to face them again?"

"He's gotten stronger. I can tell." Ikora eyed him and smiled, "They all have."

"But not strong enough to beat them, from what I've seen. If things look dire, you get out. Do you understand Aro?"

"Yes I do."

"Off topic but why weren't Crona and Asura invited?" Cayde asked

"Because this is being kept off records as well. At least public Tower records. Our Ghosts will save the information." Zavala answered, " And start an investigation. We need to find if there is a leak in information and close it up. Aro, you are dismissed to prepare. Aashir, stay behind."

"Hey kid!" Aro stopped halfway to the door, "Have you decided on a clan name?" Cayde asked.

Aro realized he hadn't thought too much about it and admitted so. "Well hurry and figure it out. Zavala keeps getting mad that I put "Clan The Bad Guys Don't Care What We Call Ourselves, Do They?" on the reports."

"Cayde…" Zavala warned.

"What? All my other ideas weren't as funny."

Despite his apprehension, Aro laughed, "I'll get right on it."

Cayde gave him a thumbs up, gave Zavala two hard pats on the back and walked out. Zavala groaned and rubbed his eyes. Ikora just shook her head, amused.

* * *

"Been a little while since I've prepared seriously like this." Aro eyes ran over his armor in the mirror, making sure everything was set right.

"Been a while for everyone." Daniel was leaning against the doorway, "I wish I could come with you."

"We rather not risk any more lives than we have to."

"I know, I know. But still…" He shook his head, "How do you feel?"

"Just like I did before I went to fight Prime."

"Calm and collected then?" Daniel smiled.

"That was just...real good acting."

"Have you talked to Katrina, Sora and Jessie?"

"Not yet." Aro looked down, "I told them I'd tell them everything. I'm surprised any of them have been as patient as they are. Anybody else would be trying to beat answers out of me."

"Come home soon and make sure that changes."

Aro didn't respond.

Daniel sighed, "Aro, I think we should talk."

"About?" Aro knew the answer.

"I want to talk about you and me." he said, gesturing to the both of them, "Whatever this is-"

"Aro. Time to go." Kain said, interrupting.

"I'll head out soon. Sorry, Daniel. Continue."

Daniel shook his head, "You've got somewhere to be. You don't need me on your mind right now. Just…stay safe. I don't know if I've made this clear but…I really do care about you."

"Yes I noticed." Aro started laughing and then kissed him softly, "You're always on my mind. We'll talk after this. I promise."

Daniel pushed his forehead against Aro's and kissed him again. He then leaned back and wiped his head, "You've got a really oily forehead."

"And you've ruined it. We're leaving, Asura!" The door opened. Crona was flipping through channels, heavily armored boot propped up on the table. Kayla and Erek were planted next to her.

"Calm down, I'm only messing with you." Daniel chuckled, pulling him back into a hug that progressively got tighter. Almost as if he was afraid to let go. Aro squeezed his back just as hard, burying his head in his neck.

"Crona's smiling at us. I think her Ghost is taking pictures." Daniel whispered, "Asura!" the passing Exo jumped, "You look like you could use a hug."

"No, I'm-hey!" Daniel grabbed him by the cloak and pulled the shorter Guardian in. Asura groaned, shaking his entire frame.

Amanda had their ships prepped in the Hangar. Goodbyes were exchanged quickly and with little ceremony except for one last lingering hug between Daniel and Aro. Kayla, Erek and Daniel watched the ships take off and stayed until they had disappeared from sight.

"Caesar." Daniel brought up his hand, his Ghost appearing within it, "Are they ready?"

"Yes. So are the others."

"Good. Report it to Aashir. We'll move on his signal." Daniel closed his hand and took one last look in the direction of the ships before walking away with his team.

* * *

"Here we are." Crona announced, resting her gun against her shoulder, "You guys sure you got a good look from those cracks?"

"I am at least." Sol said, "We'll find the chamber."

The gaping maw of the Temple of Crota was as foreboding as ever. Aro had not been looking forward to coming back. The area made his stomach crawl. The Darkness was as strong as ever here. It was no surprise, considering who was sleeping below.

"Hey, you guys." Kain appeared, taking the form of a Light bubble, "Someone's trying to establish contact."

"Speaker? Vanguard?" Asura asked.

"Unknown."

" _You three are interesting. Not entirely but you have promise._ "

All three froze at the sound of the voice.

"That's her, isn't it." Crona breathed, "The Exo from before. The one that tried to kill Asura." Aro remembered that she had only heard her voice on Kain's recording a few weeks back.

"How are you contacting us?" Kain asked, floating around, trying to strengthen the signal.

" _I know what you're about to do. And its brave. There are enemies out there you would not believe. Even the Heralds have been holding back."_

"How did you find out about this?" Asura asked.

" _Wrath."_ The voice said. Asura stiffened, " _Or I guess I should start calling you Asura now. I told you that you needed to prove yourself. Prove you aren't the monster you were when we first came face to face a thousand years ago. This is as good a test as any."_

All three remained silent. It was clear she was not going to answer their questions.

" _Go down and face the Hive and the Heralds of Night. If you live, you'll have my help until this threat has passed. Or until Earth has. One is much more likely than the other. If you die, Wrath and Arochukwu, I will have had my retribution and the Gate will be closed once again. Your friend will have been an unfortunate casualty."_

The three looked among each other, considering her words.

" _Do not bother looking for me. I will find you when I need to. Good luck."_

Aro's Ghost closed itself, "Signal dropped. I was unable to trace it."

The Guardians faced the wide open door. Aro only just remembered that they were standing where Vell reportedly died when his team attempted to breach this temple. Aro readjusted his grip on the Scout Rifle.

"If you want to turn back, I won't complain." Kain turned towards him.

"What do we do, Aro?" Asura looked at him. Crona did as well. They were ready to throw away their lives on his word. The twisting in Aro's stomach got stronger but he forced it down. He was done being afraid of the Heralds. Whether he remembered or not, he was somehow responsible for their creation. Now he'd also be responsible for their destruction. No matter what it took.

Aro let out a long breath and gave the command.

"We do as she said. We go down and we face them."


	31. Chamber of Night Part II

_Chamber of Night Part II_

* * *

"My sensors are just now picking them up. This place is crawling with Hive." Aro whispered as they stepped into the Temple.

"I'd expect the ones who built the place to live in it." Asura pointed out, "Are we fighting our way through?"

The temple shook with a loud roar. Aro moved closer to the edge to see an Ogre staring back at him. Hive Acolytes were running towards their location, firing all the while.

" _That was not there before!"_ Kain said loudly in his head.

" _Look out!"_ Crona yelled as she punched an Acolyte, who disintegrated into nothing. At the same time, the Ogre attacked, sending a stream of Void energy out of its eyes directly towards Aro.

Crona grabbed and shoved him behind her and stuck out her hand. The blast struck her open palm like a river crashing into a boulder, the beam harmlessly parting around them.

"What's your deal?! Get your head in the fight! I'm not dying because of you!" Crona ordered. Aro had just noticed she had used the Acolyte's energy to cover herself in a Force Barrier. She had to holster her gun to use both hands, straining against the stream. She obviously wasn't going to last long.

Aro jumped to his feat and lobbed a small glowing sphere directly at the Ogre. The Solar Grenade expanded on contact, burning the creature. He proceeded to shoot at the monster's head, Crona joining in until the Ogre crumbled to dust, dead.

Asura had been clearing up the smaller Hive all the while. The place was empty within a few minutes.

"Straight ahead." Sol said. Aro took point, dropping off the ledge, onto the ground floor. With his team on his tail, Aro leapt over a small wall of boulders and followed the path downwards. The hall opened up into yet another enormous cavern with a large machine right at its center. Aro put a bullet into the Acolyte guarding the entrance to the machine but not before it roared to alert the others.

Crona ducked behind a wall, looking over only once before lobbing a Flashbang into the machine. She crossed the small gap between the ground and the machine after the grenade exploded and moved to its opposite side before ducking behind yet another wall. White orbs of energy crashed right where her head used to be, followed by the tell-tale cry of a Hive Wizard. Behind the Wizard were two Knights, each equipped with Arc Hammers firing off in a continuous stream. From behind them, where they had come in, Asura and Aro were occupied with the stream of Thrall leaping over the chasm to enter the machine.

"Crona, we need to get through! What's the problem?" Asura yelled as he cut a Thrall down.

"Hive Wizard with two Knights! I can't get close!"

With a bright flash of orange light, Asura created and aimed the Golden Gun at the Wizard's head the best he could. The first shot dropped her shield, the second and third reduced her to nothing. At the same time, Aro split a Nova Bomb and dropped the three spheres right at his feet, killing a majority of the Thrall attempting to come through. Any survivors were disintegrated by the vortex left behind. With Asura and Aro's help, the rest of the Hive were finished off.

"That was pretty heavy. Do you think...do you think they know we're coming?" Asura asked, taking the time to reload.

"If they didn't before, they probably do now." Spirit answered, "We need to hurry. Through here."

The chamber ended in another short, curved hallway that led to yet another, even bigger chamber with another machine planted in its center, this one with large thick wires coming from all over it.

"What are these things?" Asura asked, staring up the machine, "We saw something just like this before. I can't exactly remember when though."

"Hive Seeders. Just like on Earth in the Refinery, leading up to the Devil's Lair." Aro had learned about them some time ago. "There's also a second in Skywatch. They burrow into the planet to create more of the Hive. If we don't finish this, there'll be more of these hitting home."

"How do they work?"

Another roar. More Hive.

"If we live, I'll tell you. But it's disgusting. Trust me." Two Knights armed with massive blades came charging at them with another group of Thrall scrambling past. Aro force pushed one to pieces before leaping into the air to avoid the Knight's Cleaver. He glided backwards and the Knight ran after him, readying itself for when he inevitably hit the ground. Behind the Knight was a glowing, slow moving Thrall, walking towards them.

Aro dropped to the ground, ducking under the Knight's horizontal swing and shooting the Thrall behind it once it had gotten close enough. The Cursed Thrall exploded, staggering and injuring Aro's attacker. The explosion also knocked Aro to the ground. The Knight quickly recovered, bringing its weapon downwards. Aro rolled out of the way but not far enough. The giant blade slammed down on his arm, shattering the bone. Stifling a roar and letting the pain fuel him, Aro used his uninjured arm to quickly roll over again. He switched to his Shotgun and aimed as the Knight raised both its arms to finished him off. A large hole appeared in its chest before it fell to pieces.

Aro stood, taking a few seconds to let his shields recover and let his Ghost repair his arm. At the same time, the chamber shook as Crona slammed the ground with a Fist of Havoc, the last Knight and the rest of the Thrall disappearing.

"Aro!" Asura ran towards him but Aro shook his head, "I'm alright. We're almost there." He said, trying out his arm, "Let's just hurry. I want to go home." The fireteam kept moving, leaving the Seeder behind.

The next path was much more open. It bridged the next two chambers together over a massive cavern. Thick columns of rock connected the top to the bottom. How far down the bottom was could not be seen as a thick fog covered everything. The wails of the Hive echoed across the cavern. How they could be heard in the lack of air was a mystery.

"In case anyone was wondering, the fog is not water." Kain announced.

Crona peeked over the edge of the walkway, "They really just tore this place apart." She whispered.

"They've had this place to themselves for a long time." Her Ghost said, "I'm surprised that this place is as stable as it is with the amount of holes they put into it. From what Mira, May and Shino learned in the World's Grave, this is what they do to every planet they take over. Earth will look a lot like this if they win."

"Happy thoughts, people." Asura grumbled.

"Bit late for that."

"Let's keep moving." Aro said, leaving the cavern behind. Crona gave one last look before quickly catching up.

"We're in the World's Grave right now, you three." Kain said.

"Where's the giant library?" Asura asked, keeping his gun up.

"That's further ahead. Not that it matters. Mira and her team destroyed it fighting Greed."

"I'm not surprised. But that can't be the only one."

"No. Just the closest-" A thin line of green light appeared at the center of the large open room, accompanied by an ear splitting noise. A Hive Tombship cut its way into the room, quickly dropping off multitudes of Hive soldiers, including another Knight and Wizard. Asura threw a Thermal Grenade right at the Wizard's head. The Wizard failed to move out of its way fast enough and the blast brought down its shield. Knife brandished, he jumped off the ledge and high into the air, dropping down right over the staggering Wizard and sinking his knife into its head. The monster screamed, flying through the air frantically in order to throw him off. Asura sank his blade deeper and twisted before pulling away and letting go. The headless Wizard was gone before he touched the ground. When he did, the door behind him opened with a rumbling creak. Thrall and Acolytes were already falling over themselves trying to come through. Three bladed Knights came stomping behind them, crushing any of their own in their way.

Both Aro and Crona dropped down from the ledge above, pieces of the first Knight falling with them, "Chamber's on the other side. We need to push through!" Aro ordered, shooting down one of the Thrall.

Asura holstered his Auto. The battle raged outside but he was calmer than he had ever been before. Just as he had trained, he let the Arc Light inside him build up before forcing it through his knife. The Bladedancer darted forward, knife slashing down and sliding clean through one of the Thrall with little resistance. He leapt forward again, bringing the knife back up and cutting through another Hive soldier. And another and another, never hesitating in between strikes. More and more Hive were coming out of the connecting chambers and swarming around him. One of the bladed Knights broke its attention away from Crona and Aro, running towards him and crushing several other Hive in its wake. Feeling the power slipping away from him, Asura jumped as high into the air as he could, twisting himself around and around until he was just a vortex of metal and Arc lightning . The Knight attempted to slash at him as he dropped down. The Arc Blade sliced straight through the incoming Cleaver, cutting it in half, and severed the Knight's blade arm. The monster dropped to its knees, turning its head towards its opponent behind it. Once it turned, the last thing it saw was Asura's glowing blade coming for its head.

The Knight fell, dead, and Asura relaxed, letting the Arc Blade drop. Aro's hand clapped on his shoulder. Crona's head fell back, "First Golden Gun on the Archon, now this? Do you always have to show us up? Let me be first for once!" she complained.

Despite the looming threat, Asura laughed for the first time in a while. He sheathed his knife, "Tell you what. If we ever get a third subclass, I'll let you have your moment." He raised his fist, "Deal?"

She bumped his forearm with her own and laughed as well, "Deal."

The three trudged up the stairs, spirits bolstered by their small victory, until they came to a door.

"This is it. The darkest of all the Hive chambers." Kain said, "And still no sign of Gluttony or any of the others."

The door started to open. "Reload everything now." Aro commanded, switching between each weapon. Asura and Crona did the same before the three walked to a second door.

The second door slowly creaked open. At the very center of the room was an enormous stone, black in color but releasing the strange green light the Hive were known for. The second the stone came into view, a wave of revulsion washed over the three. This thing was familiar and yet was not. Whatever it was, this was not what it was supposed to be. Three Hive Wizards surrounded the floating object and streams of white and green energy flowed from the stone into the gaping maws of the Wizards.

"They haven't noticed us yet. What's the plan?" Crona whispered as they crept closer.

"Everyone take one. Kill them all." Aro snarled. He snapped his fingers at the one closest to them, sending a blast of Solar flame straight at the unsuspecting Wizard. The other two Wizards darted back, prompting Crona and Asura to follow them. Aro slowly walked closer and snapped again, knocking the Wizard back again. The Wizard waved its arms, causing a cloud of black mist to appear. Aro leapt into the air and spiked Nova Bomb at the creature. The Wizard darted to the side and, with the force of his will, Aro's attack followed it. The Wizard dissolved to nothing in the Void, leaving behind one last shrill cry.

Aro landed on the ground and turned to see another of the Wizards coming towards him. Before he could respond, Crona fired a rocket straight at it. The missile collided with its chest and exploded, burning it to ash.

"That's all of them!" Asura called, running back.

"There's a terminal to your left, Aro. Let me out so I can find out what this...thing is."

Aro obeyed, opening his palm and letting Kain towards the machine.

"What the...what is this thing?! How did it get here?!"

"What is it, Kain?" Crona asked, raising her gun again.

"It's a shard of the Traveler!"

"A shard of- fuck, MOVE!"

Crona tucked and rolled to the side, Aro and Asura following. Several Arc Hammer blasts smashed into the spot they were once standing. A swarm of Thrall, Acolytes and Knights were gunning for them, coming from all corners of the chamber.

"There is a lot of erratic movement around us!" Kain yelled to the three.

The rocked as a Hive Ogre stomped out from one of the doors. Without hesitation, the monster fired. Crona brought both her hands up, using her own energy to recreate the Force Barrier. This Ogre was much stronger than the last. Along with the rain of attacks from the Knights and Acolytes, Crona was quickly being worn down.

Her groans of exertion could be heard through the radio as started to slid back from the force of the eye blast before planting her feet further into the ground. The Force Barrier's light started to increase in intensity, shining brighter and brighter until Crona threw her arms outward. A large dome of Void Light manifested around the three. The debilitating attacks of the Hive smashed against the Ward harmlessly. Crona fell to her knees, breathing hard. Aro quickly helped her up, holding her until she could stand on her own two feet again.

Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the chamber, knocking them all off their feet again. When Aro looked up, the enormous group of Hive laid there in pieces. All the Thrall, Acolytes, Knights and even the Ogre were killed where they stood.

On their corpses, glowing a brilliant violet with angry streaks of black lightning spiking off of him, stood a shaking Gluttony.

His white hair was disheveled, his white teeth bared in a vicious snarl and thick cords of veins pulsated under his blue skin. The force of his rage could be felt from where they stood on the opposite side of the chamber. His arrival had killed every Hive that was in the room.

Gluttony was glaring at them. Aro caught his eye and held it, paralyzed with fear. Gluttony stared back for a second longer before he let out a nearly inhuman roar that shook the entire chamber. He threw his hands forward, sending two large orbs of Void energy flying straight at Crona's Ward of Dawn.


	32. Chamber of Night Part III

_Chamber of Night Part III_

* * *

Reacting without thought, Aro threw himself and Crona outside of her shield. Gluttony's attack slammed against the purple dome, immediately causing it to dissipate. The resulting explosion threw him and Crona farther down the chamber. He rolled until he smashed against the back wall.

" _WHY...ARE...YOU...HERE?!_ " Gluttony roar shook the chamber.

Aro tried to stand, groaning from the pain, "Asura? Asura?!" The Hunter laid sprawled on the ground, injured but moving and alive. Crona was in the same shape.

Gluttony suddenly appeared in the air above him, hurtling down and stomping his foot directly into Aro's stomach. Aro yelled out as a rib audibly snapped. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION BOY!" Gluttony drove another hard kick deep into Aro's stomach, pinning him to the ground.

Aro could feel the blood spilling from his bared teeth. Struggling to breathe, he groaned out, "The shard. Why...why do you have it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Gluttony sneered, pushing deeper into his stomach, causing Aro to cry out again.

A bullet whipped past, ripping into Gluttony's shoulder. He grunted in surprise and jerked back, his foot lifting off of Aro's stomach.

Asura fired again, catching Gluttony's leg and dropping him to his knees. Despite his still repairing injuries, Aro rolled away and stood up, running towards Crona.

"Are you alright? How's your leg?" He asked, picking her up.

"About as good as your stomach." She quipped painfully.

"…That was uncalled for."

Asura suddenly flew past, smashing into the wall behind them and slumping over. Spirit appeared over his head in a slow rotating bubble.

"We'll do this later. Get Asura." Crona nodded and started running back towards him.

Aro straightened up and squared himself. Gluttony was staring at him, his cool demeanor returned.

"So how did you find out about this place?" Gluttony asked, anger seemingly gone. He placed a fist into his palm, calmly pacing.

"Lucky guess." Aro said apprehensively. Aashir's hunch was right. Gluttony didn't expect this, "What is this place to you? Why did you attack Katrina and her team?"

"Is that what this is? Revenge for your girlfriend?!"

"Tell me something, Gluttony." Asura voice rang out from behind, "This shard is connected to you, isn't it?"

His eyes narrowed, "What made you come to that conclusion?"

"Former or not, it takes a Herald to know a Herald." Aro cringed at the loathing laced in his words. "Either your leader gave you orders to come here or this thing is too important to for us to be around it. Either way, I see no reason in not destroying it."

Gluttony suddenly bolted forward. Aro barely had time to aim the gun before a hard, invisible fist pushed him to the side.

Crona moved in front of Asura, taking a hard swipe at Gluttony's head. He leapt straight over her, twisting midair to force push downwards. Crona dropped into the ground, crashing through the surface. Gluttony landed feet first on Asura's chest, knocking his weapons away.

His red eyes glowed with a terrifying anger, "You're first."

Asura started to scream as bright wisps of his very Light ripped their way out of his body.

"No! Stop!" Aro screamed, starting to run towards them.

"You should've known. Sooner or later, that mouth of yours was going to get you into a world of hurt." Gluttony growled as he pulled Asura's Light into himself. His foot kept Asura in one place, despite his violent thrashing, which was starting to slow down.

Gluttony suddenly jumped back as if struck, seeming startled; the Light disappearing. Barely a second later, someone appeared in front of him, squatting over Asura. The Guardian was gone as quickly as they appeared, Asura disappearing with them.

Gluttony looked up just in time to see a missile coming towards him from the ceiling. He Blinked directly forward, dodging the projectile. Aro covered his head, shielding his eyes from the light of the explosion. Gluttony raised his hand, sending a Nova Bomb in the direction of missile.

A dim light flashed in the wall just before the blast struck and brought it down. Two more Guardians, a Titan and Warlock, suddenly appeared right next to Aro and Crona, the third, a Hunter, Blinked in second later holding a drained but living Asura.

The Titan turned their head towards him, "Aro, Crona, are you alright?"

Aro blinked at the voice, "Daniel?!" He belted out.

"I'll take it as a yes. Crona?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She said quickly, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your asses." Erek propped Asura up, "Do you really think the Vanguard would send you down here alone?"

"They didn't say anything to us-"

"GET DOWN!" Kayla screamed. She latched onto both Crona and Daniel while Erek grabbed Asura and Aro. Both Blinked away just in time to avoid the purple ray of energy that had just created another hole in the chamber wall.

"I am the last person you should be taking your eyes off of!" Gluttony yelled. His face was contorted in anger but the anger never reached his eyes. Especially as he watched Daniel struggle to stand.

Erek lifted his frame off Asura and Aro, groaning, "Damn it. I can't keep this up. Not with this many people. We have to finish this."

Gluttony opened his hand, creating a bright green flame, "I couldn't agree more. And for what it's worth, Danny…" Daniel froze at his name, "I am sorry." The flame exploded with almost blinding intensity. When the light abruptly disappeared, the room was filled with Hive, none moving or even making a sound. Gluttony floated above them, red eyes glowing bright.

Silent monsters. Red eyes above them. It was just like in Aro's dreams. And if he remembered anything about the dream, he knew what was going to happen next.

There was no loud, thunderous cry. No proclamation of "The Gate is risen" that he had heard the very first time he ever went to sleep. Gluttony just pointed. Directly at them.

The first roar filled the cavern. Joined by another. And another and another until it seemed the entire Moon was shaking.

"GET READY!" Aro roared.

"Is that for us or yourself?" Kayla yelled back, loading a Machine Gun.

"Column A, column B?"

The Hive charged. Gluttony charged with them.

* * *

The chamber was all but destroyed with remains of dead Hive crunching underfoot. Some of them killed fighting the Guardians. Others were unfortunate enough to get in Gluttony's way.

Aro backed hard into a wall, immediately ducking to avoid decapitation by a Hive Knight. He thrust his palm out at the monster's abdomen, setting it on fire. The Knight reeled back, giving Aro precious time to ready a Shotgun and take off its head.

The second the Knight fell, he fired again, blasting away the Thrall that was flanking Erek.

" _We need to focus on the shard_!" Kain yelled inside his head. Something that was easier said than done. Gluttony brutally attacked anyone who even aimed at the shard. Several of them had already died fighting him at least once and it took every other living teammate to stop him from absorbing their Light. They were almost too late with Asura but something stopped Gluttony, just like before.

Aro was suddenly tackled to the ground, a wave of energy carving into where he was standing before.

"Are you alright?" Daniel asked worried.

"Shoulder's dislocated." Aro groaned. Kain snapped it back into place, "Better."

"Sorry." Daniel apologized meekly, the Titan's head lowered slightly. Despite everything going on, Aro chuckled.

"Out of everyone who could've come down here, it had to be you two." Gluttony said, slowly walking towards them, "The man I don't want to kill and the man I can't."

"You seemed to have no issue trying at at the Skywatch." Daniel growled, covering himself in a Force Barrier.

"After everything, do you really still believe that was my choice?" Gluttony asked disbelieving, " "I CAN'T ANSWER!" "HE WON'T LET ME!" Does that sound familiar to you?!"

Daniel was visibly shaking. Despite the battle still raging around them, Aro felt cold.

"We do not have a choice. I did not have a choice in attacking you and Greed did not have a choice in shooting Tarlowe-"

"SHUT UP!" Daniel jumped up and slammed the ground, sending a large wave of Arc lightning towards Gluttony. The Herald made no visible effort to evade it and the impact sent a cloud of dust and smoke into the air. Daniel charged into the cloud, "Daniel, slow down! You can't just charge him like that." Aro quickly ran after him. Voidwalkers were just as dangerous up close as they were from afar.

Just as Aro expected, Daniel came flying out of the cloud. Aro managed to catch him before he could hit the ground. Daniel roughly scrambled to his feet, "Keep his name out of your mouth, you bastard!" he roared. With a wave of his arm, Gluttony brought the cloud down, "I see. So he really must be...shit." Gluttony turned away, a stricken look crossing his face, "Shit." He whispered again, hands covering his face.

Daniel slammed the ground again, his body crackling with electricity, hoping to catch Gluttony off guard. At the same time, Aro quickly formed and threw the largest Nova Bomb he could muster at the Herald. Having all but cleared the chamber of most of the Hive, a barrage of missiles and energy blasts erupted from the other four Guardians from all corners of the room.

Gluttony's eyes shot open, glowing red once again. A dense purple sphere started to slowly expand out of him, their attacks smashing against it harmlessly. Gluttony suddenly roared with exertion, pushing the dome around him outward as an explosion. The six stood frozen as the blast wave spread across the entire chamber, enveloping them all in a blinding violet light one by one.

* * *

Aro wasn't dead, that much he knew when he woke up. The ringing in his head told him so. He moaned when he tried to move, every muscle in his body protesting against him. Rocks from the decimated ceiling fell around him

"Save your breath." Gluttony said, walking towards an unconscious Daniel, "I want you alive to see this."

"What are you doing?" Aro's arm gave out from under him when he tried to pick himself up, "Stay away from him."

"I can't." He said, ominously. He stopped directly over Daniel and brought up his hand, "He won't let me."

Daniel woke up screaming, tendrils of Light lifting from his body into Gluttony's open hand.

"Leave him alone!" Aro kept trying to stand, finally coming to his knees despite the pain. Gluttony stuck out his arm, an invisible hand knocking Aro back down against a ledge. Groaning, he looked up at the eerie glow above his head. He froze at what he saw.

"I'm sorry. I really am." Gluttony told him. His hand snapped closed. Daniel's body suddenly jerked and went limp, head rolling to the side. A small, white orb rose out of his chest, slowly making its way towards Gluttony. The others started screaming Daniel's name. He was not responding. Not at all.

"I'm sorry." Gluttony whispered, one last time. The last of Daniel's Light entered his reopened palm and his hand slowly began to close around it, preparing to squeeze it out of existence.

A massive crash shook the room. Gluttony suddenly roared, hands flying to his skull and dropping to his knees. The orb of Light fell and quickly reentered Daniel's body. He jerked up violently, gasping for air.

" _Just in time_." Aro slumped back against the ledge, tears nearly falling. He had the luck to fall close to Gluttony's shard. He had taken all the energy he had left and blasted the shard, shattering it to pieces.

"No...no, no, no, _NO_!" Gluttony screamed as the pieces of the shard fell to the ground. Gluttony fell back, as if in a daze, his face twisted in fear and disbelief.

Gluttony threw back his head and let out a roar that visibly shook the entire Temple. From his gaping mouth came a massive beam of what appeared to be Void Light, punching straight through the ceiling. Crona threw up her Ward of Dawn for protection. Kayla and Erek Blinked towards Aro and Daniel and Blinked back into the shield.

Gluttony clawed at his head and dropped to his knees, screaming all the while. The blast of energy coming from his mouth disappeared and for a short minute, he went silent. Aro painfully propped himself up, using Kayla for support. Gluttony was staring at him. A confusing mix of despair and anger could be seen in his eyes.

Aro tried to stand. To move closer.

Gluttony shot up and ran out of the chamber, disappearing into thin air before he even reached the door.

* * *

 _This chapter gave me so much trouble._


	33. Six of Us Went Down

_Six of Us Went Down_

* * *

A good silent minute had passed before anyone dared even breath. The chamber was empty but no one's mind was at ease.

Crona's Ward disappeared, "What the hell was that?" she asked, straightening up.

"Absolutely nothing good, I'm sure. Kayla, have you gotten word on the others' positions?" Daniel groaned, trying to stand.

"Too much interference." Her Ghost answered.

"And you need to slow down. You almost…" Kayla paused, "You almost died."

"I'll worry about it when this is over. Keep trying to contact the others."

"What others? Why are there others here?" Aro demanded.

"The rest of our…clan, I guess. They were supposed to be here to back us up." Daniel picked up his gun, "Let's head back to the surface."

"You didn't answer the second question."

"What?" Daniel turned around.

"Why are you here?! We came alone to avoid having anyone else get hurt, Daniel! You all could've died!" Aro yelled, moving closer until they were standing face to face, "You _did_ die."

"We were ordered to. Besides I don't care if they can't kill you, I'll be goddamned if I let you take these monsters on by yourself!"

Aro let out a loud sigh, mixed with anger and fear. Asura, Erek, Kayla and Crona just stood behind them, pretending to not notice.

"What's everyone standing around for?" Daniel barked, "Head towards the surface!" He looked at Aro, "You can yell at me once this is over. Let's just get through this."

"I plan to." Aro's voice softened, "Be around for it." he said before following the others out.

* * *

The Anchor of Light was more chaotic than they had ever seen. Hive everywhere fighting the Fallen Exiles.

"I'm getting reports from all over." Kain said urgently, "The entire Moon has Hive springing out from their caves and attacking anything and everything they see. No permanent deaths yet but plenty of close calls."

"Daniel, the others might have gotten held up." Erek said.

"They shouldn't have even been on the surface until after we called! Kayla-"

"Still nothing."

"Wait" Aro pointed towards the colony base. A group of Guardians were holed up in, shooting out of whatever opening they could find. Wild swarms of Hive were shooting back or trying to enter the base.

" _They're going to be overwhelmed."_ Kain said.

" _HEY!"_ A deep voice yelled into the comms, "CAN YOU HEAR US?!"

"Clear a path! We need to get up there." Aro commanded.

Focusing straight ahead, the Guardians began shooting down any Hive between them and the base. Getting up one by one, the helped to clear the area surrounding the base. The Fallen took the opportunity to retreat.

"Is everyone alright?" Aro asked, once everything had calmed down.

"We'll be fine with an explanation!" The man yelled, flustered.

Daniel and Kayla looked at each other, "What did you see?"

The man, a Titan, looked at the Warlock pacing behind him. "We were just scouring the area, looking for materials to bring back home." the male Warlock explained. His voice was wavering. As if he was struggling and failing to keep his composure, "So-some man suddenly appeared right at the path that leads to the Temple of Crota. An Awoken. Warlock, judging by the robes. But he didn't have a helmet!"

Aro's stomach tightened, "No helmet? Are you sure? Bit hard to believe."

"I'm not crazy! Jellal, I'm not!" The Warlock said pleadingly to his Titan teammate.

Jellal's voice softened, "I'm not saying you are, Garrett. We just know you still haven't recovered from-"

"No!" Garrett raised his hands, "Don't."

Jellal sighed and looked back to Aro's group, "He was here the first time something like this happened. When Crota first attacked. We both were."

Aro's eyes widened slightly. He had heard the stories. It was years ago and judging by how this man was still reeling; the stories didn't do it justice.

"Please. What happened next?" Kayla urged softly.

"I…I wasn't paying as much attention to his face as I was to the fact that I could see his face at all. But he seemed flustered. In pain. He kept running and he disappeared again. The second he did, the Hive started going crazy."

"It's like this all over the Moon." Jellal said.

"What direction was he running in?" Aro asked.

Garrett pointed out one of the openings at a large open tunnel, "The Hellmouth. That's the general direction."

"Aro, what are you thinking?" Erek said to him alone.

"We need to finish this. We can't let him run around like this."

"Are you out of your mind?"

"You guys know something, don't you?" The Titan rearranged the grip on his gun.

"Only that he's very dangerous." Aro said to everyone.

"So he was real?" Garrett asked.

"Very."

Jellal stepped forward, "If you're going after him, you have our help. I can call Lee down here. Garrett, you can head ho-"

"I am not leaving you here!"

Aro shook his head, "No. Neither of you should stay. Head back to your ships and send out the emergency signal. The entire Moon needs to be evacuated until this mess is cleaned up."

"You're joking. The entire…" the Titan sighed and holstered his gun onto his back, "I don't know you but you seem to know what you're doing. As mentioned before, my name is Jellal. This is my teammate and friend, Garrett. Our Hunter, Lee, is currently in the Cosmodrome." Jellal placed his fist to his heart, an old salute among Guardians.

Aro returned the gesture and his name as well as the names of the others.

"Good luck fixing-" an explosion from behind the mountain interrupted him, "Whatever the fuck this is." The pair Guardians disappeared one by one and Aro faced the Hellmouth entrance, leaning against the colony base opening.

"I can't believe we're really about to do this." Crona breathed, joining him.

"I can't believe I didn't leave with them." Erek moaned, looking at the sky.

"Well it's happening." Aro straighten up and looked at Daniel and Asura, "How are you two feeling?"

"You don't have to worry about me." Daniel stood up, shaking his head when Kayla moved to help him.

"Asura? How's…"

"He's…itching. He's ready for a fight." Asura's voice was low and gravelly.

"Well, he's getting one." Aro looked back outside. The fighting had calmed down in their area. Most of the combatants were dead.

" _Are you ready, Kain?"_

" _Whenever you are but this was your idea. So let's go find this monster."_

Without another word, Aro dropped down from the colony bass, his Sparrow appearing under him before he could touch the ground. He blasted off, the others right on his tail.

* * *

The Hellmouth fit it's name perfectly.

"The Hive are in more of a frenzy here than anywhere else." Kain said, "Reports of the most violent activity have all come from here."

"And Gluttony is driving that frenzy." Kayla said, "He must be here."

Jellal, Lee and Garrett got the signal out. The few Guardians patrolling the Hellmouth disappeared one by one, some narrowly avoiding death. A Darkness Zone covered the entire region. Gluttony was definitely close.

The Guardians were evacuating. All except six, fighting both the Fallen and the Hive.

Erek stopped his Sparrow, "What the hell are they doing? They need to…"Erek paused, "Oh for fuck's-really?! MIRA!" He yelled.

Static at first. Then, one of the Hunters stopped in the fight, "WHAT?!"

"WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING THEM?!"

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING?!" Mira ducked an incoming blow to the head and sliced off the Knight's sword arm in the process.

"We should probably help them." Crona said, lifting her foot off the ground, "They're going to be overwhelmed."

"Let's make it quick." Aro said, jetting off in their direction.

As they got closer to the fighting, Aro sped up. He jumped off the Sparrow just before it rammed into the Thrall flanking one of the Titans.

" _Kain. Auto."_ The Scout Rifle was quickly replaced and Aro opened fire on the group of Hive scrambling towards them. Many of the Fallen used the distraction to escape with their lives. The Hive were too frenzied to notice.

" _Get down!"_ Mira screamed. Aro did as told, narrowly avoiding a purple missile fired from behind his head. The rocket exploded within the largest gathering of Hive and body parts scattered everywhere. The stragglers were easily picked off.

"Is everyone alright?" Erek asked, using his foot to yank his knife out of an Acolyte's head.

"Swell." one of the Hunter's said, "And here I thought we'd be elbow deep in Hive forever. Or in his case, head deep." she finished, jerking a thumb at the shorter Titan.

Crona stepped forward, "Aveline?"

"The one and only."

"So then you're Josef." Crona figured, looking at the Titan Aveline was teasing.

"Who else does she make height jokes about?" He grumbled, slightly amused.

"Aashir." Daniel looked towards the tall Warlock, "What happened?"

"Mira and her team happened."

"Technically, Shino happened." Mira said. The large, dark color and strangely shaped Rocket Launcher disappeared from her hands. She sat down where she was, seeming drained.

"Yeah, go ahead, blame me." Shino came around, knocking Hive dust off his armor. May came up behind him.

"No one told you to start fighting them." Aashir said.

"Well I wasn't about to leave that team to their deaths!" Shino sounded genuinely angry at this point, "If you had a way we could save them without getting into the fight, please! I'm all ears!"

"You could have stayed out of it. Let them take care of themselves."

"They were a bunch of Rank 2's! They would have been killed out here!"

"People die everyday." Aashir stated flatly, "My Ghost is getting the feed from all the others. And because we weren't there, Daniel and Asura were almost one of those people."

"What?" They heard the anger leave Shino's voice, "Daniel, I'm-"

"I'm fine. And it's alright." Daniel waved a hand dismissively, "You did what you thought was right. I'm glad someone did." he finished with a pointed look at Aashir.

Aashir made a disgusted sound.

"You know, I've always looked up to Josef." Shino said, his anger back, "I grew up in a family of girls and he was the big brother I never had! One of the strongest, most powerful Titans I knew and his sister was just the same." He moved closer to Aashir until they were face to face. Shino was still a head taller, "Now I realize, you probably would've just let them die if they made the mistake of not being strong enough for you."

"Not at all." Aashir said calmly, "I take care of my teammates. Can you say the same?"

"Now wait a fucking minute…" Mira stood up. Shino was trembling.

"Aashir, that's enough." Aveline warned.

Aashir simply turned his head towards Mira, looking her up and down, "Judging by your place in this team, I guess you can't." The Exo shrugged, "Such potential wasted. I've rarely seen a Light shine like hers."

"Aashir!" Josef yelled.

The man was ignored, "And she wasted it on some girl she doesn't even know who couldn't do like the rest of those who were revived and find her own way home!"

Aro's drew in a shaky breath. Even Crona gasped slightly.

"People die everyday!" Aashir repeated, "You have a job to do. Are you really going to be jumping in between every poor unlucky fool and the danger coming at them along the way?"

Lightning started to crackle around Shino. His head was bent down and his massive shoulders hunched up like a wolf prepared to kill. Aashir was unfazed.

Aro shook his head, "THAT'S ENOUGH." Both Guardians looked at him. The strands of Arc energy swimming around Shino slowly disappeared. He let out a deep breath and without another word, turned around and started to pick up his gun.

" _Help! Somebody help me!"_

All the Guardians present suddenly turned at the sound. A Guardian was running towards them, wildly waving his arms. Aro instinctively started running towards him and froze in his tracks.

The Guardian was running out a large dark cave. A larger than normal Hive Ogre was right on his tail.

Aveline suddenly darted past Aro and towards the stumbling young man, colliding and grabbing ahold of him. The Ogre gave a feral roar and raised its arms before slamming down on the empty space, creating yet another crater in the Moon's surface. Aveline Blinked in behind Aro.

The Ogre roared again and fired its Void attack at the three of them. Aveline placed her hand on a frozen Aro's back and Blinked the three of them out of the way. The energy ray carved clean through the mountain behind them.

"Where the hell is your team, kid?" Aveline asked, "Why are you out here alone?!"

"Team? What team?! I-I don't have one!" The young man gasped.

"You don't…shit."

The Ogre fired again, this time at the others. They all managed to jump out of the way and started running to put some distance between it and them.

Aro could see everything from where he, Aveline and the young Guardian, "May, get down!" he yelled just as the Ogre turned its head. The large beam of light it emitted followed its gaze, aiming straight at May.

"MAY!" Shino and Mira shifted direction. They weren't going to make it in time.

May suddenly jerked to the side, the blast just barely missing her. Another Warlock had tackled her down.

The beam of energy disappeared and the Ogre screamed. A Hunter had appeared above it, sinking their blade straight down into its many eyes. The Ogre clawed at the Hunter in vain until they finally jumped off its head, leaving an electrified knife behind. Just as they tucked and rolled onto the ground, a Titan jumped up onto its head, shoving a handful of purple glowing objects down its throat before swinging around to the top of its head to grab the knife and jumping off.

An internal explosion dazed the Ogre. A following second one sent pieces flying all over, most disintegrating to dust before hitting the ground again. The Titan slowly walked back towards the group, throwing the knife back at the Hunter. The Warlock helped May stand.

Mira gave a bitter laugh, "You're late."

The other Hunter laughed too, "You sound surprised."

Aro stood, "Katrina?" Aveline and the young man stood with him.

"Aro! What mess have you started this time?"

"I do not start messes!" Aro said indignantly, despite himself. He rethought his words, "Well, not usually. I admit, I kinda started this one."

"We were informed." The Warlock who Aro figured was Sora said. Her voice lowered, "Is it them?"

"Yes. But no. Not all three of them. Not yet."

"Who then?" Jessie asked.

"The Awoken Warlock." Aro turned and pointed towards a chamber entrance, "And he's down there somewhere."

"You going after him? 'Cause I want my payback."

"We are but…" Aro looked at the group. All the fourteen others were looking back, waiting for him to tell them what to do. Just judging by their body language, all were exhausted, angry, afraid. He felt no different but he was still expected to lead. And under this kind of pressure…

He shook hi head. He'd feel afraid later, "We are but just my team and Daniel's." he commanded, "The rest of you will go home."

Aro's gun appeared in his hand and he turned towards the entrance of the Hellmouth's chamber, signifying that these were orders; not suggestions to be debated.

"Alright." Katrina said first, "But...just be careful, you guys."

"We will. Aveline, take care of him." he said, nodding at the nameless Guardian. She nodded back and disappeared without another word. The other eight transmatted back to orbit one by one until only Mira was left, "Erek, did you get it?"

"Yeah. I got it. I'll be careful with it." he answered her. She then disappeared as well, a cloud of light marking where she once was. Only the six selected were left.

Kaylaa came up next to him, "So down there?" she asked, gesturing with her own gun.

A deep rumbling shook the entire surface of the Moon. It lasted a few seconds and was not strong enough to knock anyone off balance. It was still the most disconcerting thing Aro had ever felt in his life.

He swallowed, "Yeah. Down there."

* * *

 _Aashir is my problematic fave. Shino's just a fave. Regular fave. Vanilla fave. Missionary fave._


	34. Beast of the Void Part I

_The final fight is a slightly edited version of "The Summoning Pits". Five chapters left._

* * *

 _Beast of the Void Part I_

With most combatants dead or fleeing, the Hellmouth had calmed down. The quiet did nothing to put their minds at ease as they slowly moved down the hall.

"You'd think there would be someone here…" Crona said, constantly looking over her shoulder.

"There usually is. Odds are they were driven into a frenzy too." Kayla figured, "There must not be much of them down here either. I don't feel anything stomping around. Just that incessant banging."

She was right. Just as they had crossed into the chamber right under the massive pit in the middle of the Hellmouth, the ground would start shaking with what seemed like hard, consecutive and deliberate blows against a wall that refused to break.

"Stop here." Aro ordered, "Start reloading everything. Use a synth pack of you need to."

"Guns don't do much against these people." Kayla said, reloading anyway.

"Neither does knocking off their heads." Aro cocked his rifle, mind flashing back to the rescue mission, "Don't let it stop you from trying."

"Can I just point out that sending away our 9 strongest members didn't strike me as the best idea." Erek said, turning to watch their back.

"Duly noted."

They started moving again until they reached the area where the banging seemed to originate. They could feel the thunderous hits shaking the ground. Aro backed against the wall next to the entrance, took a deep breath and peeked around the corner.

Despite the vigorous fighting he had been through in the last few hours, Aro suddenly felt very cold. It wasn't a Hive Knight or even Ogre slamming against the closed door. It was a Human male.

A Human male with dark skin, red eyes and no helmet.

Daniel had heard Aro's gasp, "What is it, Aro?" he asked worried. He started moving towards the opening despite Aro's protest.

Daniel moved in front of the entrance and froze. Seconds passed like days.

Daniel's hands balled into fists, "GREEEEED!" he roared, charging straight into the room. Greed's eyes widened and his fist stopped halfway to the door at the sound of the voice.

"Daniel, no!" Aro gave chase but the distance between them was too great.

Roaring, Daniel jumped into the air. Greed's eyes followed him, bloodshot red eyes still wide with shock.

Daniel dropped down, crackling with angry lightning until something slammed against him in midair, sending him flying into the stairs behind Greed, almost collapsing it. Daniel slumped down, Ghost appearing above his head. Another helmetless figure rose up from the dust, taller than Greed. Even taller than Shino.

Aro froze in his tracks when Wrath, silent as always, turned around to face him. The others behind him halted as well. Being hit that hard and fast by someone that strong; Aro wondered how Daniel's body didn't shatter into pieces.

"Daniel? Arochukwu?" Greed whispered, "Damn it! I don't need this right now! Keep them off of me!" He returned to slamming against the door, with more urgency this time.

Aro was suddenly knocked sideways, falling flat onto his back. He looked up to see a caped figure holding an Arc Saber to his throat. The only one with a helmet.

Sloth jumped away as quickly as he appeared, narrowly avoiding being shot by Crona.

Wrath charged again, this time at Erek, Kayla and Asura. Kayla grabbed Asura and Blinked the both of them to the upper level. Erek managed to leap clear over Wrath and run towards Daniel. Greed ignored him as he ran passed, continuing to slam against the door. Deciding to focus on the other two Exos and without breaking his speed, Wrath kicked himself off the wall and landed on the upper level with them.

Erek reached and revived Daniel. The second he was on his feet, he started making his way towards Greed again until something out of the corner of his eye made him freeze in his tracks.

Erek moved in front of him, deflecting an incoming knife away with his own.

The hooded thrower was walking towards them, knife suddenly returning to his hand, "Always thought Titans were lucky to have us Hunters. You know, to save them when they charge ass first into trouble and get themselves killed."

The man raised his head and Daniel could see Erek's shoulders go slack. It was the only other known Herald unaccounted for.

Erek could barely form words at first, " _You."_ he finally managed, in what sounded more like a whimper.

Lust cocked his head, "What about me?"

" _You."_

" _Shit."_ Daniel thought, "Erek, try to calm to down." In any other situation, the thought of him telling anyone to calm down would've made him laugh.

" _He…he hurt her. He killed her."_ Erek's knife appeared in his shaking hand, " _And you want me to calm down?"_ His voice was still dangerously low.

"Who exactly did I kill? Narrow the list for me."

" _YOU BETTER REMEMBER HER LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"_ Erek suddenly exploded. His body burst into wild Arc lightning. He grunted with exertion as his glowing Arc Blade started to slowly started to extend from the tip. It was the first time Daniel had seen him successfully perform the Saber.

"You want to fight me?" Lust drew two pistols from behind his back, "My life isn't what you should be worried about!"

Roaring, Erek charged. Daniel, covered in a Force Barrier, was right on his tail. Lust brought up the guns, bent sideways and began shooting. The bullets bounced harmlessly off Daniel's barrier. Erek resorted to using the Arc Saber to deflect what he could. Despite his efforts, some of the bullets still grazed him. They didn't slow him in the slightest.

Erek brought the Saber down on Lust's head, bringing it back up when Lust ducked to avoid it. Deflecting a third slash with left gun, Lust aimed the right at Erek's head.

The bullet grazed the side of Erek's helmet. Daniel had managed to knock Lust's arm away just in time. Before he could recover from the blow, Lust twisted around and kicked Erek away, putting some distance between himself and the Guardians.

Erek recovered quickly and ran back at him, passing Daniel up and jumping from side to side to avoid the bullets being shot at him.

Erek suddenly stumbled and fell down to one knee, the Arc Saber disappearing, much sooner than normal. He had already overexerted himself.

"Erek?" Daniel tried to reach him. Although shaky, Erek had gotten back on his feet. The Herald had gotten to him first.

Lust pushed a strange black Hand Cannon giving off a familiar green glow deep into the soft part of Erek's stomach. He clicked the trigger and a black thorn-like projection suddenly burst out of Erek's back, leaving a large, ragged and bloody hole in its wake.

"EREK!" Daniel roared, picking up speed and charging the Herald. Erek dropped hard to the ground, clutching the hole in his stomach as Eren rushed to repair it. A pool of blood was starting to form around him. Just like…

Roaring even louder, Daniel threw a shielded fist at Lust's face. Jumping back, Lust began shooting the single black Hand Cannon. Daniel raised his arms to deflect the thorny bullets before finally deciding to raise a Ward around Erek and himself.

"Erek?" He turned and softly touched the groaning man's shoulder. His leg armor was already staining with blood.

Daniel suddenly spun around just in time to see Lust deliver a thunderous kick to his chest. The impact sent him rolling out of the shield, twisting until he was on his feet again. He looked up to see a Golden Gun aimed directly at him.

Lust squeezed the trigger and the pistol started to pull in energy at the muzzle before letting out a single shot.

The shot's explosion slammed him onto his back several meters away, knockingthe wind out of him. If Daniel had moved just a second later…

Daniel's arms and legs felt like water. Erek was trying to stand and Lust was coming closer. He looked back at the others. Crona and Aro were fighting Sloth, looking at them just in time to see Aro stop Sloth from driving his blade into a downed Crona. Kayla and Asura were barely holding Wrath off. They were all losing. And it was obvious the Heralds were holding back.

" _Damn it. We aren't going to last like this."_

He turned towards Greed again only to see that he had broken through the lock and had pried open the door. Slipping inside, Greed turned around and started to close the door behind him again.

"No!" Daniel tried to stand up until a bullet ricocheting off his shoulder knocked him down again. Lust had the black gun trained on him and a foot pressing down hard on Erek's neck whose knife had been knocked farther away.

"Now I see why Gluttony had so much trouble with you." He looked down at Erek, "And whoever this woman was must've been important to you." Lust pushed down harder on his neck, earning a strangled cry. He aimed the black pistol at his forehead, "Since her passing hurt you so much, why don't you go join her?"

" _THATS ENOUGH."_ a voice commanded.

Lust's finger froze on the trigger and looked down at Sloth, obviously pissed, "I'm not done here!"

"Doesn't matter. We've held them off long enough. Greed should've reached Gluttony by now." Sloth said.

With a loud sigh, Lust lifted his foot off Erek's neck, allowing him to breathe again. Erek immediately scrambled for his knife but by the time he could reach it, Lust had already dropped down and joined the other two. Sloth turned, preparing to leave.

"Wait!" Crona stepped forward, shaking Kayla's hand off when she tried to stop her, "Andal?"

Sloth stopped, broad shoulders tensing.

"Andal Brask?" she said again, as if hoping it wasn't true. That his sudden reaction meant nothing.

Sloth turned and stared only at her for a few seconds longer before his shoulders fell. His hands came up to his head, dropping his hood and his helmet disappeared.

Tan brown skin, short spiked black hair and a trimmed beard covered the man's bare face. In all the pictures Aro had seen of the Cayde's predecessor and the stories he'd hear, the man had a pair of warm brown eyes and an even warmer smile for every person he ever met.

This was definitely the same man. Except his eyes weren't brown. And he looked like he had never smiled a day in his life.

Crona took a step back, shaking her head, " _No. No. Andal."_

Sloth painfully shut his eyes, "That's not my name anymore, Crona."

"Why?" she almost whimpered, "What about Akira? What about Cayde? What about your nephew?!" She was yelling by the end.

Sloth almost flinched with each question. His eyes opened, hardened again, "I'm letting you live. Do not ask me for more."

Lust suddenly disappeared as did Wrath.

"No, ANDAL!" Crona started running towards him.

The former Hunter Vanguard stood still a second longer, staring at the ground before he disappeared in nothingness as well.

Crona's stopped abruptly and slowly fell to her knees.

"Crona-" Aro started after a few minutes of silence.

"No. It's fine." she sounded like she had been crying.

"No. No, it's not."

She didn't respond. Only rose to her feet and started walking, "Let's just find Gluttony and Greed." she moved past them, heading for the door. She stopped in front of it and started to walk back to the other end of the chamber.

Daniel joined her and the others cleared a path. Both Titans took off in a hard spring, picking up as much momentum as they could. Wrapped in Arc lightning, both barreled straight through the massive door, reducing it to rubble before sliding to a stop.

Without pausing to wait for the others, both kept walking. Aro took one last look at the chamber before quickly running to catch up.

* * *

"Gluttony!" Greed ran into the Summoning Pits. There he was on the ground, massive chains holding his small, weak frame in place.

"Gluttony." Greed breathed, dropping down from the entrance to the ground and running towards him.

"No…" Gluttony moaned, "Stay back. Please. It's too late."

"Shut up." Greed moved up to him, looking for a release to the chains. Gluttony's eyes followed him as he frantically walked around.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Gluttony had started crying again and as always, nothing came out. He had lost the fluid in his body a while ago. He screamed again when he felt his body contort again. Greed could almost hear the bones breaking and rearranging.

"I said shut up!" Greed snarled, "Gluttony-

"Toland." He rasped, looking at Greed with a weak and defeated smile. He had given up, "Call me Toland. Just one last time." Gluttony was growing in size, already head to head with Greed.

Greed wrapped his arms around the other man's growing neck and put his forehead against the other's, "Toland." Tears fell from his eyes, freezing before they could hit the ground, "Don't leave me. Not again."

Gluttony suddenly kissed him roughly. In an instant it took him back to their first time together. Greed's first time with anyone. He had never planned to develop feelings. He never planned to let it come this far. Now here he was, watching the man he loved leave him a second time. And just like before, there was nothing he could do to change it.

"I…love you…Vell." Gluttony's mouth had began changing shape, to the point where he could no longer speak.

Horrified, Greed started to back away as he watched Gluttony grow and mutate; thrashing in agony all the while. The blue color left his skin, replaced by a rotting gray. Gluttony's screams of pain had become inhuman roars and whines.

"GREED!"

" _Not again."_ He spun around at the sound, expecting to see Daniel charging at him again. Daniel's attention was elsewhere.

The Guardians stumbled back in horror as they watched the already giant mass of misshapen flesh grow even taller. Hands twisted into gnarled claws. Mouth filled with sharp teeth and two giant chains attempting and failing to hold the monster down.

Daniel's eyes flicked away from the monster down to Greed, who was no longer watching them. Instead, he was staring at the monster as they were, tears frozen on his face.

The way Greed looked at it told Daniel all he needed to know about the creature's identity. Despite the burning hatred he had developed after seeing his uncle for the first time in a while, he still felt a twinge of sadness for him.

" _If it was Aro…"_ he shook his head, refusing to think about it.

The monster was struggling against the chains. There was no trace of the Herald that had been there before.

The chains finally snapped and the massive Hive Ogre that was Gluttony roared triumphantly, sending a massive wave of Void energy at the door.

* * *

 _Recap on Heralds' identities: Gluttony is Toland. Greed is Vell Tarlowe. Lust is Dredgen Yor. Wrath is Kabr and Sloth is Andal Brask. Envy and Pride have yet to be revealed._


	35. Beast of the Void Part II

_Reminder that Wrath(K) is for Kabr/Wrath and Wrath(A) is for Asura/Wrath._

* * *

 _Beast of the Void Part II_

* * *

Everything happened in a flash.

The chains snapped.

The monster attacked.

And in the second it all occurred, all Aro could see was a blinding light filling his eyes.

A bone shattering force knocked him out of the way and onto the ground below just before the beam destroyed the chamber entrance. Kain quickly fixed any injuries resulting from the impact and the fall.

" _GET AWAY FROM HIM!"_ a deep voice screamed. Head still swimming, Aro finally got a good look at who had tackled him down, scrambling back in surprise. Greed stood up off the ground and turned to see Daniel and the others gunning for the two of them.

Another blast of energy splashed between the groups, cutting them off. Aro stood up and ran right before Gluttony could set his sights on him again, ducking behind one of the 4 high platform walls in the chamber. Gluttony threw his head back and roared, a beam of light erupting from his head and punching through the ceiling of the massive cavern.

A rough hand grabbed his arm, "How are we fighting this thing?" Asura asked, peeking around the wall.

"I-I don't know." He stuttered. In all the studying he did on the Hive, no one had encountered an Ogre this massive. If they did, they didn't live to tell anyone.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Asura shielded his head when more boulders dropped from the ceiling, "You're leader for a reason!"

Aro swallowed, trying and failing to calm his breathing. With every step Gluttony took, the entire cavern shook. With every step, Aro's hopes of ever going home became dimmer and dimmer.

"Aro." Asura said softly, staring at the ground.

"What is it?"

He looked up, "Wrath(A) wants me to tell you to look at Gluttony's chest."

Aro hesitated only a second before peeking around the platform. Gluttony was turned the other way, shooting at the wall where one or more of the others must have been. Aro still got a look at its chest.

"A heart…" Aro breathed. He took a deep breath and screamed into the comms, "AIM FOR HIS HEART!"

The shooting started a second later. Aro took out the machine gun he had equipped and let loose into the monster.

Gluttony screamed in fury, turning his sights on Aro once again. "Aro? I'm going to keep Greed busy." he heard Daniel say.

Aro paused in his reloading, "What?! No!" He turned to see Daniel already dropping off the main platform to a lower one where Greed must have been standing.

"Fuck…just be careful." Aro cursed, turning to shoot at Gluttony again.

"I will. I promise."

* * *

Greed watched him drop to the floor and start walking towards him, "By yourself? Is that the best idea?"

Daniel didn't answer. His walk slowly became a hard run and agreed put his arms up just in time to stop a bone shattering strike to his bare face.

"What did you do to my father?" Daniel growled, leaning in close.

Greed shoved him away and ducked under the electrified right hook coming at his head, looking pained but refusing to answer.

"Answer me!" Daniel commanded, bringing his right elbow back at his head. Every punch he threw was dodged or deflected, only serving to make him angrier. He wanted to make Greed hurt like he had for all those years. Like his family had for all those years.

Greed grabbed the fist coming for him and effortlessly launched Daniel over his shoulder. Daniel dug his fingers into the ground, sliding to a stop before charging Greed again.

"Daniel…about Tarlowe-" Greed ducked under the wild punch coming at his head. Daniel's fist hit a small pillar behind him, cracking it.

"Keep his name out of your mouth!"

Greed's eyes widened and his shoulders dropped, "So he…"

Daniel quickly moved in close and landed a satisfying hit to Greed's face. Greed didn't make an effort to evade it. Or the second or the third or even the kick to the face that sent him flying back.

Greed rolled backwards and stopped on his feet. He didn't try to fight back. He just stood in that spot, shoulders shaking as if he was seconds away from breaking down in tears.

Daniel slowly stomped towards him, "You ruined his life. You've ruined our family twice now!"

Greed looked up, "What? What do you mean?"

"He may never walk again! Because of you!"

"Wheelchair…", the tears fell, "So he's alive…" Greed suddenly started laughing, hand covering his face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"That…that is the one good thing I've heard all day." Greed said softly, "I was supposed to shoot him in the head, Daniel. I…managed to resist."

The revelation froze Daniel in his tracks for just a second, "IS THAT SUPPOSED TO CHANGE ANYTHING?!"

Again, Greed didn't respond. Daniel suddenly stopped and asked ominously, "What about my dad? Did you kill him?"

Greed's eyes narrowed, "What?"

"DID YOU _KILL_ MY FATHER?!"

"Why the hell would I do that?!"

Daniel laughed bitterly, "You're asking me that?!" He started advancing again, "It seems I don't know you as well as I thought I did, _uncle_."

"Daniel-" Greed closed his eyes.

"His family took you in when you had nowhere to go, treated you as one of their own! And look what you've become." Daniel started running, covered in Arc Light, "And if you ask me, _that was the worst mistake they could've made!"_

Daniel's Arc covered fist collided full force with the Herald's face, dust kicking up at the discharge of energy, "They should've let you die in the streets like the piece of shit you really are."

A stream of blood flowed from the inside of Greed's mouth where he was struck. Daniel could barely see him through the dust, only knowing he was still standing there by the fact his hand was still on his face.

Suddenly, two red glowing lights appeared in the thick cloud. A large hand landed on Daniel's wrist and twisted it back painfully.

"If that's what you think…" Greed said threateningly, his luminescent eyes enraged but sad, "Then there's nothing left to talk about."

He threw Daniel's arm back, and delivered thunderous strike to his chest with a Barrier covered fist. The impact sent Daniel flying backwards up the stairs leading to where the others are. He hit the ground and kept going until the stone wall broke his flight. He fell to his knees and dropped to the ground, unable to move.

* * *

Either bullets weren't working or this version of Gluttony could really take a hit.

Either way, Aro had run out of ammo for both the Machine Gun and Fusion Rifle, using only his Auto to attack and grenades when they were ready. He could use an ammo pack but Gluttony never turned his attention away from any of them long enough to use one. They had each died at least several times and the spark of hope Aro had mustered was fading fast.

Suddenly, a large crash shook the entire chamber, even earning Gluttony's attention. Daniel had slammed into the wall and dropped to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

" _I told him to be careful!"_ Aro began running, trying to reach him. In the process, he moved too close to Gluttony. The monster roared and slammed the ground with his long arms, an attack Aro barely dodged.

He watched as Greed launched himself into the air, covered in a Force Barrier and began dropping down towards Daniel. Aro sprung up and started running again, knowing he'd never reach them in time.

A purple explosion knocked Greed out of midair. He dropped to the ground, only for another explosion to send him flying backwards.

Erek fired the large dark blue Rocket Launcher a third time. The Void missile seemed to follow Greed's every little movement.

A small Ward appeared around Greed, stopping the missile easily. Greed looked different from before or even from the first time Aro saw him. His red eyes were shining and his lips were turned up into a snarl.

Aro always knew he was a threat. But the only times he had seen Greed's face, he as crying or looking distraught. This was the first time he actually looked like the threat he was .

Erek was reloading while Crona ran for Daniel, who was struggling to stand himself up. Greed opened his mouth and roared to the sky, " _WRATH!"_

Erek fired but the missile never reached its target. A bolt of lightning dropped from the sky and struck the missile, causing it to explode. Wrath(K) rose up from the black cloud. It seemed he was the only one to stay behind.

Despite the fear clawing at his stomach, Aro prepared himself to take on the two Titans until a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You, Crona and Kayla focus on Gluttony." Asura said, voice unnaturally deep. Without warning, he charged The Heralds. Wrath twisted around, fist colliding with Asura's knife.

" _I don't think that was Asura…"_ Kain said.

Aro sighed, " _It's not."_

He returned his attention to Gluttony, spiking a Scatter Grenade at the creature's head. When it turned towards him, he started running, a stream of energy trailing him.

He could see Kayla on the other side of the chamber. When she made eye contact with him, he nodded. Both holstered their guns and fired off bursts of flame that made Gluttony reel back, throwing him off balance. Another two blasts, aimed at the legs, knocked Gluttony to his knees.

The monster roared in pain, using one of its arms to support himself.

Mustering all the energy he had left, Aro entered Radiance. He felt the same as he did every time he always did; euphoric, giddy. It took all his concentration not to lose himself in the feeling of it. The fiery wings that always sprouted from his back appeared on both Crona and Asura, bolstering both their abilities as well as his own.

Crona had managed to climb up on top one of the platforms. Covered in both fire and lightning, she lifted herself up into the air as high as she could before shooting down like a bullet.

Gluttony screamed in pain as Crona shot straight through the arm holding him up, severing it at the elbow. The massive limb dropped to the ground, shaking the entire chamber.

Kayla glided high into the air and released three small Nova Bombs onto Gluttony's head, causing him to roar even louder. Unable to support himself any longer, Gluttony rocked and finally fell against one of the high rise platforms, jaw going slack.

Aro exited Radiance and fell to his knee, breathing hard from exertion. Even Wrath(K) and Greed paused in their fight with the others, Greed with a distraught look on his face.

"Is it over? Please, let it be over." Aro gasped, voice cracking. Nobody moved, all eyes were on the monster.

Gluttony twitched and Aro's stomach turned. The monster roared weakly and fell to the ground, the entire chamber rumbling with the impact. He then brought his remaining arm up and pushed himself off the ground, a pained roar quickly becoming an enraged one.

Gluttony suddenly fired his energy attack, this time directly at Kayla. Crona quickly threw herself in front of the Warlock, raising the Ward of Dawn them in midair.

It did nothing. The blast pierced the Ward and enveloped both Kayla and Crona. The two disappeared from view as the ray smashed into the wall. When the beam disappeared, both Crona and Kayla lay in the rubble, Ghosts hovering above their mangled bodies.

"No!" Aro broke into a hard sprint. An explosion from behind Gluttony knocked the monster forward, earning his attention. Erek released the final two shots in the Golden Gun before ducking for cover.

Aro revived Kayla and then Crona quickly after, "Are you two alright?"

"No." Crona groaned.

Aro allowed himself a small laugh until he suddenly felt a large shadow come over them. He looked up to see Gluttony looming over them, remaining limb high in the air and coming down on them.

Reacting on instinct, Aro force pushed both Crona and Kayla opposite ways. The impact was jarring but got them out of the way just in time but at the same time, left none for him to do the same.

Crona slid to a stop on her back and scrambled to her feet, " _NO!"_

The massive claws closed around him and Aro could feel himself lift off the ground.

" _ARO!"_ Daniel cried, abandoning his own fight and running for him.

Aro could barely hear anything as Gluttony swung him through the air. He could feel several ribs crack and even pierce organs with how tightly Gluttony was squeezing.

Suddenly the pressure released and Aro could feel himself falling. He twisted around to see how far he was from the ground, only to be met with the sight of two massive rows of teeth.

He didn't even have time to scream before he hit the back of Gluttony's throat, headfirst, snapping his neck in the process. Paralyzed, he could only watch silently in terror as the massive jaws slammed shut, cutting him off to the world.

The last thing he could hear was Daniel screaming his name. The world went silent after.

* * *

 _That's it. That's the story. Aro gets himself eaten._

 _Next chapter will be Gluttony trying to pass him._

 _Kidding._

 _Maybe. I haven't written it yet._


	36. Beast of the Void Part III

_Beast of the Void Part III_

* * *

Aro's eyes shot open and slammed shut once again. Slowly, he reopened his eyes, letting them adjust to the blinding white void he was in before trying to sit up.

" _Where the hell am I?"_ he thought, rubbing his aching neck. His mind registered that he was touching bare skin just a second later. " _Where's my helmet?!"_

He stood up slowly and looked around. The memories were slowly coming back.

Gluttony claws dropping on him.

Flying.

Falling.

A mouth closing.

Aro couldn't breathe. "Kain?!" He yelled out into the endless void. "KAIN?!" He ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head and letting tears fall from his eyes.

" _No. I can't be…No."_ he fell to his knees, shaking. " _I…failed them. I…"_ He suddenly let out an anguished scream that echoed across the void. Tears fell from his eyes and ran down his face. There was no point in denying it.

"Now is all of that really necessary?"

The familiar voice captured his attention. He spun around, frantically looking for its origin. He found it.

"Gluttony." Aro seethed. He cautiously rose to his feet, hands balled in shaking fists.

Gluttony simply shrugged, "If you want." The Awoken man was an actual man again, instead of a raging insult to nature. He wore simple white cloth, no shoes and his pure white hair was tied back in a ponytail, save for a few loose strands. He looked…normal.

His eyes were still red though.

"Where the hell am I?" Aro demanded.

"Teetering between life and death, just like I am now." Gluttony sat down, cross legged on the white ground, "The only reason you can't find your Ghost is because you're closer to death than life and the gap is widening."

"You're between life and death?" Aro laughed bitterly, "Have you been outside recently?! If you're in here, then who's killing my friends out there? Who _ate_ me?!"

Gluttony took in a deep breath, "I can't give you the details right now. You don't have time. Not if you want to get out alive."

Aro's eyes narrowed, "Why are you helping me? Still trying to preserve the Gate?"

"Not at all. I'm trying to help you and the City. Pride has no control over me in this state unlike every other time before."

"Pride? The first of you Heralds?"

Gluttony laughed, "I wouldn't even put him in the same league as us other six. He's in a class all his own. Maybe Sloth, on the basis of natural talent or Wrath(K) on the basis of raw power can come close. But at the end of the day, they're nothing to him. We're nothing to him. Nothing but tools. Weapons. Disposable." Gluttony looked him square in the eye, "It was him who ordered me to attack Fireteam Daniel in the Skywatch and to defend you in the Devil's Lair. It was him who ordered Greed to kill Fireteam Mira and Sloth to sabotage Fireteam Daniel's efforts on Mars. Greed had to beg him to order Sloth not to kill Daniel, Erek and Kayla in Clovis Bray."

"And Fireteam Katrina?"

"My own free will. Or what little of it didn't belong to Pride. You saw what was down there, Aro and you see what destroying it has done to me."

"What the hell was it?"

"A shard of the Traveler. My experiments on myself took a deadly turn when I became a Herald. I was taking in too much of the Darkness and it was warping me. The shard allowed me to use Light as a buffer." He spoke calmly and fluidly, as if discussing the weather.

After a few seconds, Aro sat down, "What experiments?"

Gluttony shook his head, "If you beat me, there's a journal left in Greed's old room at the Tower. Find it. It'll tell you what you need to know. But like I said, I did too much. Took in too much. That's how I got the title, the name "Gluttony".

Aro took in his words, "What about Tarlowe? What did shooting him have to do with anything?"

"Pride said we needed a distraction. Something to keep you occupied. He ordered the shot to be to the back of the head."

Aro went cold, "Greed shot him in the back. He survived but he's paralyzed from the waist down."

Gluttony's shoulders dropped, "I'm sorry to hear that. But he's alive. There's a silver lining I guess."

"You care?"

"Always have. Ever since Greed…or I guess, Vell and I became involved, I started to see his family as my own." Gluttony looked away, with a small smile, "Adrian would always throw these small parties just for the family. He'd always insist Eris and I come. Didn't seem to care how busy I was and he'd order Vell to practically kidnap me."

His smile fell, "I was there when Joanne died giving birth to Maya. She died smiling at her new baby. Her first daughter. Her two sons. Her husband and his brother. At Eris. And even at me." A tear flowed down Gluttony's cheek, "In that last moment, she seemed as luminescent and as beautiful as the Sun, and I wished to be so brave."

He looked back at Aro and looked at the ground, ashamed, "But I'm not. I'm a coward. I was given the chance to obtain the knowledge I wanted and I took it no matter the price. I wasn't there when Adrian died. Not for Tarlowe, Christine, Daniel, Maya and not for Vell. I was given a chance to cheat death and I took it again." He laughed bitterly, "Now look at me. I'm trying to kill the very people I fought alongside. Now I'm trying to kill one of the very people I watched grow up. Who I looked in the eye as a child and told I would always be there should he need me. I thought I'd be afraid of death. But I think the scariest thing about death is the possibility of seeing Adrian and Joanne again. I couldn't face them and nothing I could ever do will make up for it."

"I caused this. A long time ago." Aro said softly, "I opened the Gate. I brought the Darkness to Earth and I chose Pride. That is a fact whether or not I remember it."

"I won't deny that." Gluttony said, "But now you're working to fix your mistake. Killing all seven Heralds has never been done before; that much is true." Gluttony have a wry smile, "But we tend to do the impossible daily. Just like you're about to do right now."

"Wait, what?"

"What I mean is that our time is up, Aro." Gluttony stood, "You need to leave."

Aro stood with him, "How?"

"You've used Radiance before. Same way you always do. Get emotional."

"I'm plenty emotional!"

"If you were, you'd be alive right now." Gluttony moved closer, "When we first came face to face, I sensed something about you. Your Light is unlike anything I've ever seen. Ancient, ethereal. If you want to beat us, _all_ of us, you're gonna need to stop stifling yourself. Now close your eyes."

"But-"

"Aro please, you do not have time!" Aro shut his eyes quickly.

"Dig deeper into your own mind, Aro. Find your Light."

" _Basic Warlock training. Easy enough."_ The quiet of his mind filled with a warm glow.

"Keep pushing. Deeper into your own Light. Find its core."

Aro did as instructed. The glow became more and more intense as he did until he felt he could go no further.

"You've stopped." Gluttony stated more than asked.

"It's like I've hit a wall." Aro's eyes clenched, "I can't go further."

"Focus on this wall. Pour every powerful emotion you feel into it, like a Sunsinger. But at the same time, try to contain it, like a Voidwalker."

So Aro did. He thought of the horror he felt seeing Jessie and Sora lying dead on the Moon and the happiness and the relief he felt in getting them home alive.

He thought of the gut wrenching fear facing Sepiks Prime and the pride he felt when they overcame it.

He thought of his team. His entire clan even and how they knew of his role in all of this but bore no ill will. He thought of how the Suros' took him in like one of their own. Like Daniel's father to Greed before. His team. His friends. A family to call his own that he'd die for without a second thought.

He couldn't stop the tears from dropping from his eyes again. He thought of Daniel. The first time they met. The first time they talked. Their first time together. It was stumbling and awkward but he had never felt so safe with anyone in his life. Aro could feel the wall slip away and his mind delved deeper and deeper.

"Open your eyes, Aro."

He did. He looked over himself to see his body covered in a light that outshone the white void they were in. He felt more energized and excited than he ever had in his life. Yet at the same time, he felt in complete control. Like he could do anything he wanted to.

Gluttony stood watching him, a small smile on his face, "What do you want to do, Aro?"

Aro raised his hand, staring at it, "I want to go home. I want to end this."

"Do you know what that requires? Focus on it."

The white light became a brilliant orange as the Solar aura of Radiance wrapped around him.

"This is it. Give it one last push. Tell me, who or what are you thinking about now?"

Strangely Aro thought of Kain. Yes, Kain was the one who woke him up and gave the Darkness access to the Gate again but without his Ghost, he never would've met the others. And now he was just barely holding on to Aro, sticking beside him through a situation that seemed absolutely hopeless.

"My Ghost. I'm thinking of my Ghost." He told Gluttony, whose smile grew.

"If you ever get the chance, head to Mars. There's someone there I wish I could've paid my respects to before all of this. I have no right to ask anything of you. But I'd be honored if you did it in my place."

Gluttony placed a hand on Aro's shoulder, the flames licking and enveloping his hand but never hurting him, "No matter how we met or the hell I've put you through, know that I am sorry. For absolutely everything. I'm on your side now. I'll be rooting for you from here."

"Thank you. Thank you, Gluttony."

"Toland. Call me Toland."

The fiery wings on his back grew in size and last thing he saw was Toland's toothy smile, right before the white void was replaced with black.

* * *

Erek tackled Daniel and Blinked him out of the way before Gluttony's foot could crush him. Daniel struggled, screaming Aro's name. It was no use. Crona already confirmed she couldn't feel his Light anymore.

Both Wrath(K) and Greed launched themselves at Gluttony, aiming for his stomach. Gluttony fired wildly at the two of them, knocking them into the ground. He kept the beam focused on them. Greed raised a done around himself and Wrath(K) and was struggling to keep it raised.

"They can't even stand up to him." Erek said, "Daniel?"

" _After everything…everything we went through…"_ Daniel's mind was everywhere, " _He promised. He promised we'd talk. He promised he'd come back. He…they always promise. Vell promised. Father promised. They always promise. They never keep it."_

Erek shook him out of his downward spiral, "Daniel! He's…he's doing something."

Daniel pushed past him, peeking behind their cover. Gluttony screaming and thrashing wildly, knocking over several structures and moving their way.

Erek and Daniel ran towards the others to get out of the way. Asura had restarted the fight with Wrath(K). The way he was fighting, Daniel wasn't sure who was really in control.

Still screaming, Gluttony opened his mouth and a blinding wave of flame erupted outwards.

Daniel's teeth clenched and his heart dropped, " _He breathes fire now?!"_

" _Daniel, that's not him."_

" _What?"_

" _Aro. He came back."_

"Aro?" He whispered out loud, afraid to believe it.

Gluttony's thrashing became more and more violent as the orange flames shot high enough to lick the ceiling. The monster fell to the ground, trying and failing to use his still attached arm to stop himself. Gluttony heaved again and again as hard as he could. With one last push, a body, wrapped in brilliant flames, flew out of his mouth.

"Aro?" Daniel scrambled towards, stumbling and sliding to a stop, "Aro? Aro!" Daniel was scared to even touch him. Aro twitched and suddenly shot up, startling Daniel. Aro grabbed him tightly and practically flew out of the way of an incoming blast from Gluttony.

Gluttony's head followed them roaring in anger and pain.

Aro roared back. He thrust out both palms of his hands and sent a blazing stream of fire directly into Gluttony's face. The force of the flames were enough to physically push the giant behemoth backwards.

Using the distraction, Aro put his palms close together. A spinning orb of violet Light suddenly appeared in his hands and started to grow in size. Gluttony was regaining himself, still unbalanced by the loss of his arm.

The Nova Bomb suddenly started to fill with orange flame-like energy and continued to expand in size, Aro's hands expanding with it.

"Aro, what are you doing?!" Kayla yelled into the comms, already knowing the answer. Aro didn't respond.

Gluttony threw his head back and fired the strongest energy ray he could manage.

With significant effort, Aro launched the Radiant Nova Bomb, sending it to collide with the Void blast. The Bomb barreled straight through the stream of energy, cutting through it like a mountain through a river.

The Bomb forced itself into the monster's mouth and detonated. The force of the blast seemed to rock the entire Moon as well as knock everyone to the ground. Daniel covered Aro with his arms, shielding his eyes from the blinding light of the explosion.

When the light finally disappeared, a headless Gluttony remained frozen in place. Aro weakly turned in Daniel's arms, not daring to relax.

Gluttony slowly dropped to his knees and dropped forward to his stomach with a reverberating crash. His remaining arm snapped off, turning to dust before hitting the ground. Slowly, the rest of his body followed suit until all that was left was Gluttony, the man. He turned his head weakly and smiled softly at Aro.

"Toland!" Greed ran to him and turned him over.

"I'm sorry, my love. I'm so sorry." he weakly raised his arm, tenderly caressing Greed's face and wiping away his tears, "Take care of her. As long as you can."

The arm disappeared into dust, starting at the fingers on Greed's face and slowly trailing down his arm

"No, no. Please." Greed begged, "Don't leave me. Not again."

Most of his body was gone, "I'll see you soon. I promise." he whispered.

The last of him disappeared, leaving Greed kneeling over an empty space.

Greed was silent for a long time, his shoulders shaking. Daniel moved himself in front of a barely conscious Aro.

Greed ferociously roared and and slammed ground. The entire group tensed, waiting for the next attack. Daniel pulled Aro closer.

It never came. Greed covered his eyes and let out a strangled sob. He remembered what Gluttony had said before Aro resurrected himself. They had been together. Despite everything, Aro felt a pang of guilt for taking his love away from him a 2nd time.

Something moved behind him and looked over to see Wrath(K) hold out a large hand to Asura, who was still on the ground. The Hunter hesitated before taking it and being brought to his feet. Wrath(K) walked towards Greed and placed a gentle hand on his shaking shoulder.

Greed looked over and stared at him for a long time. He finally stood up, gave Daniel and Aro one last tearful look before the both of them faded away without another word, leaving the six Guardians alone in the chamber.

Erek weakly walked over to Daniel, "How is he?"

"Unconscious but alive." Aro's Ghost answered, "We should get him home. I knew he'd find away out." Kain said more to himself.

"Caesar, set my ship to pilot itself back. I'll ride with Aro."

The Guardians returned to orbit and took off without hesitation, leaving the Moon behind.

Reports came in from those monitoring the Moon. The Hive had calmed down and retreated. Daniel paid them no mind, falling into a dreamless sleep with Aro safe in his arms.

* * *

 _Toland the Shattered/Gluttony the Voidwalker's theme is "_ _ **Size of the Moon" by Nogizaka46**_ _(Naruto Shippuden Opening 14) which should be up on SoundCloud under "Death the Kid"_

 _I'll be taking a small break from posting while I write the final 3 chapters of the book_


	37. The Beast Conquered

_Very long chapter, you guys_

* * *

 _The Beast Conquered_

* * *

Aro moaned and shifted, " _Where am I?"_

" _You're up! You're in the med bay. You're home."_

"… _Kain?"_ His eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the bright sunlight flowing into the pristine white room. He _was_ home.

His Ghost flew in front of his face, " _Who else would it be?"_

Aro smiled softly, "No one." he said out loud, "I'm just glad you're alright."

"You're so sweet." a deep voice yawned.

He turned his head at the voice, only to see Daniel sitting in the couch next to the bed. He yawned again and stood, bringing one of the smaller chairs closer, "How are you?"

"I'm…fine, I guess." Aro sat up, "The others?"

"Everyone is fine. We all made it home and…" he paused, "Gluttony is dead. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah." Aro sank back down, "I remember that."

"Do you remember how you killed him?"

"I remember everything." Aro's mind flashed to Gluttony's last smile, "Absolutely everything."

"Where did you learn to do that?" Daniel asked, frowning, "That was a Radiant Nova Bomb and I know you're not at the level to be throwing around that kind of power."

Aro looked away and didn't speak for a long time. He barely remembers how he did it, "I was reacting purely on instinct. My mind...it was all over the place. One of the things that flashed through my mind was Sora's fighting in the Crucible."

Daniel's eyebrows raised, "That was a while ago."

"I knew it was possible. It was just the first time I had seen it personally."

Daniel sighed and his tone became low, "Did you feel anything different about yourself? Your Light specifically."

"Yes, a bit beforehand."

"What about after you killed Gluttony? What about now, Aro?"

"I sort of do feel different." He noticed Daniel's intense stare, "Is something wrong?"

Daniel looked at him for a little while longer before he let out a long breath. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them again. His eyes were replaced with a pair of electric blue lights, filling up the entire eye socket. Arcs of lightning softly sprung out from them and the air crackled softly with static energy, all of it emanating from him.

"Radiant Light." Aro whispered, more to himself. The hair on his neck was standing on end.

"So you know what it's called." Daniel stated more than asked. His eyes returned to normal and Aro could feel the hairs on his neck start to fall back down. "May told me about it. Apparently, it's something a Guardian obtains after fighting against someone as strong or dark as Gluttony. In May and her team's case, it was fighting...Greed." Daniel spat out the name like it made him sick. His eyes started to glow again.

"Daniel-"

The glow disappeared and he shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Anyway, Katrina and her team have the same abilities as does mine and Aashir's."

"You were wondering if I had it too." Aro figured.

"Well...yes. Because Crona and Asura have it too."

The thought was surprising but at the same time, not. After what they went through…

Aro put out his hand and focused his Light. A small flame manifested, dancing around his palm. The world adopted a slight orange tinge to it.

"So you do have it." Daniel said. He raised and held his hand over the flame, watching it jump and bend to the motion of the air around it, "I've always liked your flames." He smiled, mesmerized by the light of it, "There's always something so soft and careful about it. Even when it's the raging firestorm it was on the Moon." He placed his hand over the flame and Aro relaxed, letting it snuff out, "I was worried I would never see it again."

Aro didn't respond, "You were gone, Aro." Daniel whispered, "Really gone. I watched him... _eat_ you." He laughed softly, "Guess I don't have to wonder about how you felt when Gluttony ripped the Light out of me."

"You're here. I'm here. We're all home. That's all that matters right now." Aro said, his hand closing over Daniel's slightly shaking one.

Daniel tightened his grip, "Thank you. For coming back. And for saving me. All of us." He looked up at him with a small grin, "My hero."

Aro turned red and tried not to smile, "Don't do that."

"What? It's true. You saved my life. All of us. And probably the City."

A voice broke the quiet of the room, "That is very true."

Both turned at the sound of the voice. Daniel shot up from his chair, "Who are you?"

The Exo stranger had just appeared in the room as she usually did. She was perched atop one of the cabinets, her head almost touching the ceiling. She looked Daniel up and down before turning to Aro for an explanation. Aro sat up and grabbed his arm, "She's not a threat. It's alright."

"You know her?" Daniel asked, never looking away.

"It's a long story."

"One I don't plan on sticking around for, so I'll make this quick." She looked at Aro again, "You and your team did better than I expected. I thought just making out alive was too much to ask but no. You went down there. You faced him and you not only walked out alive but alive and victorious. I don't think you understand how big of a deal that is."

"I have some idea."

"Do you? They know you're a threat now. They won't hold back as they did before. You still have to beat all seven, Aro. My species made it to six before we were destroyed. No one has ever gone farther."

Aro swallowed, "And the Gate?"

"Still inside you. Kill all seven and the last person who will be able to open it is you."

"That's never going to happen." Aro stated.

"Then unless you lose, you have nothing to worry about." She cocked her head to the side, "But there's something odd about you. It's like the Gate is there and not there at the same time. It's something I can't seem to put my finger on." She shook her head, "It's probably just me. Anyway a deal's a deal. You'll have my help in this fight."

"And Asura? You won't hunt hunt anymore?" Aro asked.

She remained silent for a long time before sighing, "No, I won't. Asura has proven himself more dominant than Wrath(A). For the time being at least. Wrath(A) has taken over his body multiple times. I believe the most recent was on the Moon. They seem to be for longer and longer periods of time. I won't try to kill him but I plan to keep a close eye."

Aro sighed, "That's fair." He looked up at her again, "If we're going to be working together, what do I call you? You never gave us a name beforehand."

"We never had names on my home planet. Some of the people who escaped with me picked a name but I never knew how to. Just a designation." Her tone was soft, as if she was unused to questions about herself.

"Do you want a name?"

She seemed to consider his question for a moment, "Diana. I've always liked Diana."

Aro could hear the happiness in her voice, "Diana it is then."

"Yes." She looked out the window, "Diana, it is." She looked back at them, "Like I said before, don't try to find me. I'll come to you when I need to."

"I remember." Aeo smiled, "Thank you Diana."

She nodded slowly before disappearing as quietly as she came, leaving Aro and Daniel alone once again.

"You going to explain that to me later." Daniel said.

"I know." Aro said, watching him walk back to his chair.

"Now that that's over and we have some free time, we should probably talk about us." Daniel dropped back into his chair, "What are we?"

"Well what hat do you want to be?"

"It's no secret I care about you. A great deal, Aro." Daniel looked down, "But this isn't really something I've ever done before. I've gotten close to plenty of people. They always tend to leave me. Before you left for the Moon, I thought you were going to join that group of people. Its why I was hesitant to start anything before."

"Funny thing is, I felt the same for a while." Aro's mind flashed to his talk with Katrina.

Daniel sighed, "But then when Gluttony... _ate_ you, in addition to feeling angry and horrified, I felt shame."

Daniel moved the chair to line up with the cot, moving closer, "I don't want to die regretting what could have been. Even if it means another person I get too close to being ripped away from me. I'm willing to take that risk with you." He laced his fingers with Aro's once again, "If you'll have me."

Aro leaned over as far as the bed would let him and kissed him softly. He felt Daniel's rough hand come up and touched his face, bringing him closer. He pulled away first and just stared into Daniel's eyes. They seemed soft for the first time in a long time. Daniel kissed him again, much deeper this time.

"Daniel!"

He cursed and jumped away when one of the medics walked in. A slightly guilty look crossed his face, "Uh, yeah. Sorry." He looked back at Aro with a sheepish smile, "We were all told to leave and get some rest. I kinda snuck back in."

"All? Everyone else was here?"

"Of course. They were waiting for you to wake up but the Speaker...kicked us out."

"Daniel." The medic called again.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Daniel leaned down and kissed Aro again, "Get some rest. We'll continue this um…"conversation" when they let you out."

"Conversation?" Aro frowned, "We weren't just talking. What conver...oh."

Daniel's smug laugh could heard from down the hall. Aro spent the rest of his examination hot-faced and unable to look the grinning medic in the eye.

"Well, that's over with." Aro walked out of the med wing a few hours later, stretching his arms.

"What now?" Kain appeared next to his ear.

"We can go start checking up on the others. And then there's something I want to look for."

"Gluttony's journal. Or Toland. I guess he wants to be called Toland again."

Aro looked at his Ghost, "You heard everything?"

"I looked through your memories while you slept. Do you want to tell the Vanguard?"

Aro thought it over, "I think it's better if I didn't. Not yet"

"Alright. So what first?"

Aro's face darkened, remembering the little spat between two of his clanmates on the Moon, "Let's find Aashir."

* * *

The Exo Warlock was in one of the computer rooms, his back to the open door. He was staring at a holographic image of the Moon that lit up the dark room.

"So you're awake." Aashir said without turning around.

"Yeah, I'm awake. And we need to talk."

"About?"

"Spare me the act, Aashir. I'm tired."

Aashir's head lowered slightly. He waited a long time before speaking, "I've apologized to Shino, Mira and May, though I doubt that changes anything."

"It doesn't but I'm curious." Aro crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, "Marie. You said you knew her?"

"I was...sort of mentor to Marie, I guess you could say." He waved his hand through the air, rotating the Moon slightly. He still wouldn't turn to look at him, "Master Ikora asked me to tutor her specifically. Even she saw the potential in someone so young."

Aro waited patiently for him to continue, "Unfortunately, a lot of other people didn't agree. You've been to the City. You've seen how people like you treat people like me."

Aro frowned, "People like me? Humans, you mean?"

"Organics specifically." Aashir stood and walked around the table to the other side, "I've dealt with the prejudice all my life. The names, like "Vex" or "Vexos", the sense of superiority at being created by Human hands instead of being born. All of it. I've been alive for thirty years now so I'm used to it. Or I guess I should say "desensitized" to it."

He finally looked at Aro, "But her? She was new to it all. She had no idea why they would treat her so differently just because she was metal and wires rather than flesh and bone. I did the best I could to shield her from it, as did Mira and Shino but we can't do everything. My advice to her; prove them wrong." Aashir looked away, "That was the last thing I said to her before she died. Before she was...replaced. On her very first mission.

"She died a hero. But she lived her very short life being treated like a "thing" rather than a person by the very people she swore to protect. It makes me sick." Aashir's hand squeezed the edge of the machine.

This was the closest thing to emotion Aro had ever seen from Aashir, "I admit. I rarely ever noticed Exos were treated so unfairly."

Aashir waved a dismissive hand, "Ask any Exo. They can tell you stories."

"Even people like Cayde or Lakshimi-2?"

"Especially Cayde and Lakshimi. He's been around longer than me. And you weren't around to see the outcry Lakshimi's election caused. But like I said, I apologized. It was a trying situation and I let out things that shouldn't have been said. It won't happen again." his signature bluntness had returned.

" _What do you think, Kain?"_

" _He seems genuine. I would like to know more though."_

" _He doesn't seem interested in talking about it."_

"Alright." Aro turned to leave, "Just see that it doesn't. We're dealing with some exceptionally powerful enemies. The last thing we need is infighting."

"I understand."

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Aro asked.

Aashir turned to the hologram again, "I haven't been able to talk to my team since we got back. Josef and Aveline. Can you check in on them for me?"

"I can do that."

"Thank you." Aro left without another word.

Aashir's Ghost appeared next to his head, "You're getting better at this."

"At what?" Aashir asked, pretending not to already know.

"Letting people in. Actually feeling something."

"Well I'm not trying to." Aashir turned off the map, "I have no plans of making friends. This is a job. Nothing more."

"You have emotions for a reason. You're still letting the insults dictate who you are. You just have a metal body, Aashir. That doesn't mean you're a machine." His Ghost disappeared, " _Aveline and Josef would've loved to hear your little speech though. They'd never let you hear the end of it."_

" _Just like you won't now?"_

" _Just like I won't now."_

Despite himself, Aashir laughed softly. After a long time, it felt good to do so.

* * *

"So that really was Toland?" Sora leaned back in her chair, "And here I was hoping I had finally lost it."

Aro had sought out Katrina, Sora and Jessie, finding them lounging around the bar. As he had promised, he prepared to tell them everything only to hear that Mira had told them on the way back.

Katrina scratched her head, "This is weird."

Aro laughed, "You're taking this very well."

"Not reacting how I'm supposed to. It's something I'm good at." Her usual smile fell, "So that thing you were talking about. The one you were afraid you wouldn't come back from…"

Aro nodded.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was this big of a deal."

"We didn't know because we were never told." Jessie was leaning against the wall, "I don't think we were ever supposed to be told."

Aro sighed, "No. The fact you encountered them was an accident. You opening that door triggered some kind of an alarm. It drew them there."

Sora looked down, "So it was my fault."

Katrina put a hand on her arm, "None of us blame you."

"And without you, we wouldn't have found a way to defeat Gluttony." Aro reminded her.

"So he's dead?"

"Yeah. He is."

"So Gluttony was Toland and he was the one who attacked Daniel, Erek and Kayla in the Skywatch. Who are the others?" Jessie asked.

"Greed is Daniel's uncle, Vell Tarlowe and Wrath is Kabr. Lust is Dredgen Yor and we just recently confirmed that Sloth is Andal Brask."

Katrina's eyes widened at the name, "Captain Andal? Aro, are you sure?!"

"He took his helmet off and showed us his face."

Katrina fell back against her chair, "Shit. Does his sister or her husband know?"

"We're not sure we're going to tell them."

"That's her brother Aro! She deserves to know!"

"As well as Daniel's family." Jessie added.

"If too much word gets out, it could cause a mass panic. I already had to convince the Vanguard just to let me tell you." But Aro considered their words, "I remember the Commander and Crona talking about it before when his identity was just speculation. They might be told."

No one talked for sometime. Only the clink of glasses and hum of conversation and laughter filled the silence. It was his decision to tell them and invite them into the clan but he still felt guilty to be dropping so much down on them all at once.

Despite his efforts, a fearful tone entered his voice, "What do you think of me?"

"What do you mean?" Jessie asked, sitting down next to Sora.

"How do you feel about me? My role in…well, everything."

Katrina looked him over, reading him like an open book, "Nothing's changed. No matter what you've done, you're here now and you're trying to fix it."

Jessie nodded in agreement and Sora smiled softly.

"Thank you for saying that." Aro smiled back, "It means a lot. Really." He started to stand up, legs protesting after being in one place for so long, "So I guess this makes you part of the clan."

"I guess so." Katrina raised a drink to him, "Call us when you finally think up a name."

"Will do."

"And Aro?" Katrina called. He stopped and turned. "Things seem like they're going to get harder from here. Take care of yourself."

Aro felt another smile start to curl on his tired face, "Same to all of you. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

" _This is it. Toland's old place that he shared with Vell."_ Kain said.

Aro stood outside the closed door. It was vacant. Apparently had been for some time. He wondered if the rooms of Eris, Eriana, Omar and Sai were the same. He wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

Taking a deep breath, he waved the door open. The dorm looked like all the others except empty. Toland's and Vell's belongings had been cleared out when they didn't return. Who would have taken them? Maybe Daniel's family. Toland said that they were the closest he had.

Aro stepped into the room, closing the door behind him as to not draw attention. The lights didn't come on until he found a switch. They must have shut down the auto control before they left. All in all, everything seemed normal. Disconcertingly so, as if two of the seven Heralds had never lived here. Like normal people.

Kain flew ahead and scanned the area, "Not really detecting anything."

"I doubt it's hidden where anyone could just find it." Aro opened both of the room doors. Only one bed had a mattress on it.

Kain floated into the bedroom, "I'm sensing something here." He stopped over a spot in the ground, scanning it for a slightly longer time, "Aro, this part is removable."

Aro dropped to one knee, feeling around for an edge he could hook his fingers into. When he couldn't find one, he resorted to telekinetically lifting the block out of the ground.

There was a small book in the opening. So dusty and worn, Aro was almost worried it'd disintegrate if he touched it. Aro didn't expect Toland's journal to be so…archaic.

Aro moved to one of the desks, turning on light and began on the first entry.

" _This is ridiculous. I don't care what Ikora says, why would I need some stupid journal? I find it hard to believe I'll handle my emotions better just by writing it down. And where does she get off, telling me what to do?_

 _Whatever._

 _I'll do as she asks. She can't keep me to this forever."_

Aro almost laughed at how childish it seemed. How normal the man was. He flipped to the next entry.

" _So as it turns out, she very well can keep this up forever. This is going to get very old very fast._

 _Anyway, experiments and training are coming along nicely. I've been dead 400 years, according to my Ghost. There's so much I've missed and I know it makes me sound like a giddy school girl but I can't wait to learn it all._

 _P.S: I'm going to need to form a team soon. I've made friends with this risen Awoken woman named Eris Morn. Now we just need a Titan._

 _Maybe that Human who keeps stealing glances at me when he thinks I'm not looking. I've seen him in the training areas sparring with the other Titans. I'd focus more on how he fights if I wasn't so distracted. Maybe if he kept his shirt on? Although I'll admit I much prefer it off. "_

Aro laughed out loud this time. A risen Warlock befriending a risen Hunter and looking for a third to make their team. That was him and Asura, just last year. Master Rahool was right, they were alike in so many ways. Aro wasn't sure if that was a good thing yet.

He skimmed through the journal. Theories of the Hive and Darkness, how his training was coming, details on two weapons he had designed, when he and Vell eventually got together and his Rank VI trial and so on.

Aro reached the date he knew Toland had been exiled. It contained two short sentences.

" _I messed up._

 _I messed up bad."_

The rest after that was Toland's life in exile. His day to day thoughts. His continued experiments. The loss of his Ghost and where it was buried. And soon, his eventual return.

Aro's heart rate started to pick up as he quickly flipped to the end. The date was marked right before he and his team of six left for the Moon.

" _I hate when Ikora is right. When everything had started, I didn't expect too much. I was excited, yes, but still._

 _I didn't to be such an idiot. I had so many good things and I gave it away for my own selfish desires. I had friends. A family. The love of my life. And I turned my back on them all. If they never forgive me, it'd be too soon._

 _I hope to come back. If not for myself, then for the promises I made. My promise to become Eriana's friend again. My promise to regain Ikora's trust. My promise to see the Suros' again. My promise to spend the rest of my life with Vell. That's what I'm scared of. That I won't be able to keep them._

 _I know it sounds childish and infantile but I enjoyed looking into the history of humanity. Especially pre-Golden Age, when they believed they were at the pinnacle of civilization. Younger men and women would play these digital games on ridiculously expensive equipment. Even now, I wouldn't be able to afford one out of pocket._

 _There was one game that resonated with me. It was so intricate and involved. It taught how the choices you made affected everyone and that you should never think of yourself alone. I had to learn that the hard way. It had a song. I'd sing it to Daniel or Maya whenever they were restless and they would calm down instantly. It wasn't until now that I realized how much it'd relate to my life and the life of all Guardians. Even Future Guardians like Danny and Maya. Maybe one day, they'll find this and have at least one fond memory of me. I don't deserve even that much but a man can hope, can't he?"_

Aro turned the page. The lyrics were in the back cover

 _Shadows fall and hope has fled  
Steel your heart, the dawn will come  
The night is long and the path is dark  
Look to the sky for one day soon  
The dawn will come_

 _The Shepherd's lost and his home is far_  
 _Keep to the stars, the dawn will come_  
 _The night is long and the path is dark_  
 _Look to the sky for one day soon_  
 _The dawn will come_

 _Bare your blade and raise it high_  
 _Stand your ground, the dawn will come_  
 _The night is long and the path is dark_  
 _Look to the sky for one day soon_  
 _The dawn will come_

Aro stared at the words, taking them in. Kain located the song and played it for him. As dark and as hard things would get, they always get better as long as someone is willing to fight and stay alive for it. Toland couldn't do it. Maybe him passing on his journal to Aro was his way of passing on the responsibility to him.

Aro felt tears welling in his eyes and he wiped them away before they could fall. Toland had been a normal man who made a mistake. Just like he had probably been 700 years ago. They weren't just similar, they were the same. Only Aro's mistake was on a much grander scale. But at least he'd get the chance to fix it. He's glad for that much.

Aro looked out the window to see it was getting dark. Daniel should be retiring to his room now. After some thought, he pocketed the journal. He stepped out the room and the dorm, giving the inside one last look before shutting off the light and locking the door behind him.


	38. Wrath

_Wrath_

"Oh! Look who decided to join us!" Cayde yelled out dramatically. Aro and Daniel had rushed in a little after the set time for their meeting after waking late.

It had been a pretty active night for the both of them.

The entire clan was in attendance as well as Lord Shaxx, Shin Malphur, Amanda Holliday and Master Rahool. Aro wasn't under any impression that they were ever told. It must've been after they left.

"Now we can get started. Seal the doors, Remus." Cayde said as Aro and Daniel moved into their teams. Cayde walked past and looked back and forth between the two of them, "Wait…are you two together?"

"Cayde!" Zavala called out angrily.

"What?! Simple question."

"Uh…yeah. We are." Aro answered. He could hear Shino snickering behind him until a look from Zavala silenced him.

Cayde let out a long sigh, reached into his pocket and tossed a bag of Glimmer clear over their heads. Amanda snagged it out of the air, smirking as she put it away.

"Couldn't wait a few more damn weeks…" he grumbled, "Now let's get started. Amanda Holliday and Master Rahool were informed while you all were gone so there's no need to catch anyone up. Aro, you're up."

"Yes sir. The long story short, Gluttony is dead." Aro began, "The object that was giving off the strange feeling was a shard of the Traveler. Gluttony, back when he was Toland, performed a multitude of experiments on himself, regularly using Hive technology. Becoming a Herald caused this to overwhelm him and being connected to the shard kept him under control."

"So when you destroyed the shard, the Darkness overwhelmed him?" Ikora asked.

"I believe so."

"Do you think the other Heralds something like this for each of them?" The Speaker, who had been silent the entire while, turned to her, "If we found and destroyed them, they'd be weakened?"

"I highly doubt it. I believe Gluttony was a special case. And to make it worse, reports from your Ghosts on the fight describe him in his monster form as "erratic" and "feral". None of the words I would use to describe how he has ever fought."

"What are you saying, Master?" Kayla asked.

"I'm saying you fought a weakened Gluttony. I doubt the fight would've gone as well as it did if he had been in control."

"So what you're saying is…" Aro trailed off.

"Yes. I apologize but you got lucky." Ikora finished.

The Speaker shook his head, "Let's not think on that. You are back and Gluttony is dead. We've won this battle and you now have an idea of what you are getting into."

"Speaking of which…" Zavala turned to Daniel, "Did you find out?"

"He has it sir."

"Crona, Aro and Asura are the earliest I've ever seen any Guardian obtain Radiant Light. The battle must have been hard fought."

"There's something different about Aro's" The Speaker said, walking closer, "Something I can't place."

Aro swallowed as the faceless man peered at him for a long time. He then looked above him and said, "Shaxx, we'll need to discuss specific training for Aro and his team. After this."

Shaxx nodded silently.

"Specific training, sir?" Aro asked.

The Speaker started walking back towards the Vanguard, "As a Rank II Guardian, you were eaten. Killed. You then used your Sunsinger abilities to _revive_ yourself, throw massive flames in the face of the beast and then finished Gluttony off with a Radiant Nova Bomb. All abilities more common in much more experienced Guardians."

An image of the scene was brought up on Cayde's personal map, "Look at the size of those flames." Cayde said, pointing to it, "That much power expelled should have left you unconscious. You still managed a massive Radiant Nova Bomb right after. If you're asking why you need training, then you must not realize how insane this feat is."

"Not even I detected this kind of power in you before." Ikora said, "This is something very different."

"Speaking of which, Shino, Mira, May, Katrina, Jessie and Sora." Zavala listed the names, "You will all qualify for the Rank IV Trials in the coming year. Will you be participating?"

"I plan to!" Shino perked up only to be shut down by another look, this time from both Mira and May.

"What he means is, we're still discussing it." Mira said

"As are we." Katrina answered.

"Good. The Rank IV Trials aren't something you should take lightly. Moving on. Kayla, has Rasputin been speaking to you?" Zavala asked.

"Not much. Just muttering to himself in Russian."

"Is it bothering you?" Ikora asked.

"No. I don't hear it unless I focus."

"Father." Crona spoke up.

Zavala paused. Crona was rarely this informal with him unless something was very wrong, "What is it, Crona?" he asked, concerned.

"We…we saw Sloth's face."

"What?" Cayde almost yelled, "How?!"

"He took his helmet off. After I said his name."

Cayde's shoulders fell. Ikora's eyes squeezed shut and Zavala sighed.

"It's him." she finished softly, "It's Andal Brask." Her Ghost moved over to the table and fired a beam of light into one of the plugs. A picture of a red-eyed Andal appeared on screen.

The silence was defeating. Aveline had her face covered and her brother squeezed her shoulder.

"Damn it. Why?" Cayde growled, "Did he say why Crona? Anything at all?!"

"No. Nothing."

"So even Andal Brask is one of them." Ikora muttered, "I almost don't want to know who Envy and Pride are."

Zavala sighed again, "I know some of you loved him. But that isn't the man we knew. If you get the chance to take him down, show no hesitation. Daniel-"

"You don't have to worry about it sir." He said, "Greed is going to die. I'll see to it personally." The hate in his voice was palpable.

A concerned look crossed Zavala's face but only for a second, "Good."

"This is a bit late but Daniel, I am to understand your youngest sister has been selected as a Guardian?" The Speaker asked.

"Yes sir."

"It's a bit early and I'm still trying to figure out why but I have training in mind for her. We'll discuss later."

"That about wraps up everything. One Herald down, six to go. I should be happy right?" Cayde's tone quickly became somber, "Except I'm not. All I can remember is the man I called my friend. Not the monster he died as. And now another person even closer has abandoned us."

Ikora waved her hand over the holographic picture of Gluttony's face, "I hope you found peace, old friend." She said softly to the image right before a large red "X" appeared over it.

She finished under her breath, "Get some rest, you damn fool." Aro could've sworn there was a hint of sadness in her eyes but if it was there, it was quickly gone, replaced by her usual steel gaze.

Aro softly touched the journal in his jacket, remembering all the times she was mentioned. Maybe she should see it too. But not yet.

* * *

"Asura?" Aro walked out of his room to see his friends in his usual place on the couch, "I didn't know you were still awake."

"I don't sleep much anymore." he mumbled.

"How are you? I knew it wasn't you who spoke to me on the Moon."

"The same."

Aro frowned. He knew this fight would start taking its toll but Asura wasn't the one he expected to change so quickly. Gone was the Exo was always laughing, making terrible jokes and being the living incarnation of a headache. Not that he could blame him.

"Asura-"

"No. Don't." he interrupted, sitting up, "I know what you're about to say."

"I know how you feel-"

"No you don't, Arochukwu!" Aro was taken back. Asura had never used his full name before.

"We may have done the same things at different times and in different places but you? You have the privilege of forgetting!" Asura buried his head in his hands, "Wrath. His memories. They're starting to come back. Being around the other Heralds. In the Darkness. It's been making him stronger."

"What?" Aro couldn't hide his surprise, "I had no idea."

"I can see the faces again. The Exo who wanted me dead. The planet being taken. The children." Asura's hands squeezed until he started shaking, "The fucking children. I can see them all."

A memory suddenly came to Aro. Wrath(K) helping Asura stand after the fight on the Moon. Had they been talking? Aro wanted to ask but maybe now wasn't the best time bring it up.

"Asura." Aro walked around the couch and squatted to eye level with him, "Look at me."

After some hesitation, Asura looked him in the eye, "You're right. I don't know what you're going through. None of us do. But that won't stop any of us from being here for you. You're my friend. And I'll protect you from anything. Even yourself."

Asura observed him for a long time until his eyes brightened, "Thanks. Thank you. I appreciate it." His tone sounded as if he wasn't sure if he believed him.

"Should I stay the night?"

"No. You and Daniel have been pining after each other for a year. You have lost time to make up for."

"Ass." Aro laughed. He rose to his full height, "You sure?"

"I've got my Ghost. I'll be fine."

"Alright. I'll check on you in the morning."

"That isn't necessary."

"I'm doing it anyway. Night." Aro walked out the door, closing it behind him and leaving Asura in the empty room again.

Asura sighed and started walking towards his room, "Goodnight." he whispered before shutting off the light.

Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, Wrath(A) stirred but surprisingly did no more.

* * *

Aro shouldn't have been surprised to have another nightmare.

He had started keeping track. He was having them more than regular dreams. Not even sleeping next to someone helped it.

It was the same thing. Always the same goddamned thing. And yet, there was something different about it.

The same pitch blackness. The sea of invisible monsters beneath his feet and the swirling cloud of darkness above his head. What had changed?

There were only six pairs of red eyes. And a new face had been revealed.

Sloth, formerly known as Andal Brask kept a stoic and sad expression, contrasting with everything Aro had heard about the man who people could've sworn was Cayde-6 in Human form. The other three he had known for a while were there. Vell Tarlowe, Kabr and Dredgen Yor. As well as the last two black silhouettes. Heralds without a face.

All their eyes were trained on him showing what seemed like no emotion but emanating a mix of many. Anger, sadness and surprisingly guilt were some of the most prominent.

For the first time in his dreams, Aro started to look around. Before he had been too caught up in his fear to look away from the red eyes. He had no idea what had changed until movement behind him caught his attention.

He turned around and his eyes widened to see Crona standing behind him to his left. He turned again to see Asura to his right. One by one, he started to notice the others. His clan, his friends. The leaders and administrators of the Tower. Even the civilians like Daniel's family and Crona's family who had been caught in the middle. All were staring the Heralds down with the same intensity that the Heralds gave to him.

One face stood out amongst them all.

Toland, looking past him, was the only one to look at him and give a small smile. Aro remembered his last words before they parted.

" _No matter how we met or the hell I've put you through, know that I am sorry. For absolutely everything. I'm on your side now. I'll be rooting for you from here."_

Aro choked back a relieved sob. He wasn't alone in this anymore. Or maybe he never really was. It just took everything he had been through to see it clearly.

Aro turned back to the Heralds, ready to face them all down and his breath caught in his throat.

Maybe it was just a trick of his own mind. Maybe it was a sign that the dream was destabilizing and that he was waking up.

No. He could tell himself all the excuses he wanted to but it didn't change anything.

There was a seventh pair of red eyes again. This pair seemed to shake and blink, fading in and out of reality, as if it were there and not at the same time.

Aro turned around. Toland was still behind him. He had no idea who that could be. There were never more than seven. His stomach filled with dread and he turned to Asura.

No one was there.

His fear had returned. He frantically searched the crowd behind him, yelling out his name. No one responded. No one even looked at him. He looked back at Crona. Her face was still staring ahead, only now she looked stricken, horrified. Aro turned back towards the Herald slowly, afraid of what he might see.

He was greeted with a large knife brutally slashing down at his face and and a pair of glowing red eyes behind it.

The jolt was enough to send him shooting up in the bed. He gasped loudly, nearly hyperventilating. His face was burning, as if he had actually been hit and he was covered in a cold sweat.

Something moved along his back, causing him to jump slightly.

His actions had woken Daniel up. He sat up without a word and slowly pulled Aro down and closer. It took a while but finally exhausted his nervous energy and fell into a restless sleep, nuzzled in Daniel's chest.

The rest of his night was dreamless; uneventful. He could be thankful for that much.

* * *

"Greed." A soft knock on the wall, "It's time."

Greed slowly turned to face Sloth, who couldn't look him in the eye. Greed let out a tired sigh and rose to his feet, following him out. Neither spoke. There wasn't really anything to say.

Greed's whole world had already fallen apart when Joanne died, again when Toland was exiled and a third time when Adrian was killed. Now it was just getting old. Now he couldn't feel anything but the burn of Daniel's words in his head over and over.

" _They should've let you die in the streets like the piece of shit you really are."_

Greed had to squeeze his eyes shut to keep the tears from falling.

They reached the cavern a minute later where they had been summoned. Wrath stood silently against the stone wall, acknowledging no one. Lust sat atop a small ledge, cleaning blood off his knife. Human blood from a settlement he had been ordered to sack.

"Where is he?" Greed asked.

" _So Gluttony is dead. Such an interesting turn of events."_

Greed's breath caught in his throat. The others, even Wrath, visibly stiffened.

"Pride." Sloth muttered. No one could see him but Pride's baleful presence filled the area anyway. It was a pressure that made a person want to fall to their knees and beg for their life before he had even lifted a finger.

" _Sloth. So they know who you are now."_ Pride stated more than asked, " _You know your former allies. Do you think they will tell your baby sister?"_

"She has nothing to do with this!" Sloth responded loudly, "They had better not." He muttered under his breath.

"Where's Envy?" Lust asked, not looking up from his blade.

" _Busy and none of your concern."_ The disembodied voice said. Lust's grip on the blade tightened almost imperceptibly in annoyance.

" _Wrath? You have something you want to share?"_

The massive Exo stepped forward and spoke in a voice that shook the ground, "Gluttony's death does not have to be a total loss."

"What?" Greed straightened up immediately. Lust stopped working on his knife, eyes turned towards the Exo.

" _Elaborate."_ Pride urged.

"Gluttony is gone and he is not coming back." Wrath continued, "He can't be brought back. But he can be replaced."

"Pride, I thought you could choose only seven of us." Sloth said.

"Pride does not have to do the choosing. One of our predecessors. He is still alive."

"Wait, you mean that Exo Hunter? The one with Aro?" Lust asked disbelieving, "You can't be serious."

"Envy has learned some very interesting information about Asura. The more the Wrath in him stays around the Darkness, the stronger it gets. But it's stagnating because of the Light. Give him a boost and he may be able to take over the Hunter completely."

"Wrath(A) has never shown interest in helping us. Why would he now?"

" _I sense your apprehension, Sloth and Greed."_ Pride's voice echoed, " _You wouldn't be hoping this plan fails, would you."_

Neither bothered answering. They knew Pride knew the answer anyway.

"His priority is survival. That is the only reason he ever fought against us. But he'll see reason soon enough."

" _We'll go with your plan, Wrath."_ Pride said, " _Let them enjoy their victory for now. We'll come for him when the time is right."_

Pride's presence disappeared. Greed still felt sick. They beat Gluttony. But there was no way they could survive what Wrath and Pride were planning.

"How could you do this Wrath?" Sloth asked, "How could you help further his plans? How can you be okay with this?!"

He turned towards Greed, "Again, I am sorry for your loss. I will continue to help you protect Eris. For whatever it is worth." he then turned to Sloth, "And if there is anything I've learned over the last several decades, it is that there are some things you cannot fight and other things you cannot change."

Wrath started to walk away. In his deep, rumbling voice, he added, "It'll all start to hurt less. I promise."

* * *

 _That ladies and gentlemen is called foreshadowing._

 _Book 3 is gonna be fun *_ _ **starts rubbing hands together***_


	39. This Beautiful Cruel World

_Last chapter people. Been a ride but it's time to move on_

* * *

 _This Beautiful Cruel World_

* * *

"You guys didn't need to come along, you know." Aro sighed. Shino, Crona and Mira trailed behind him.

"I wanted to see Christine." Shino shrugged.

"I actually did need to come along. Mira was just bored." Crona said.

"I'm starting to regret leaving. Why is it so warm today?" Mira complained, shrugging out of her jacket, "By the way, Aro, I heard you finally came up with a name for our clan."

"I did." he replied and said nothing more.

All the others paused, "Sooo are you going to tell us?" Mira asked.

"Later today."

"Why? You planning some grand announcement as our leader?"

Aro thought about it. "Not a bad idea actually."

"Drinks provided?" Shino pushed between the two, jerking back when Mira threw an elbow at his face.

"Hey, why not?" Aro started laughing, "You'll be on your ass after three anyway."

"That hurts, Aro. That's hurtful."

Aro opened his mouth to respond but stopped. They were here. After a few seconds of hesitation, he sighed and pressed the bell. After a few seconds of silence, the door opened and a small figure threw herself into his lap.

"Maya It's been a while." He said, a genuine smile. She went around to all the others, hugging them in turn. When she reached Shino, she was picked up and spun around in the air.

"At least let them into the house first." Christine was behind Aro before he knew she was there. Upon hearing her voice, Shino pushed past Aro and wrapped Christine in a tight hug, kissing her on the forehead.

When he finally let her go, she hugged all the others as well, "I heard about the situation on the Moon. I'm glad you're all safe."

Aro's smile fell slightly, "That's actually what we are here to talk to you about. Can we all speak inside?"

Christine studied him for just a few seconds before turning and walking inside. The others followed, Mira locking the door behind her.

"So I've also heard that you and Daniel are an item now?"

"Seems like everyone has. Amanda wouldn't stop toasting to us, "To the future newlyweds!"and all that. Had to carry her back to her dorm." Aro shook his head, amused, "Who exactly told you?"

"I know everything Aro. You should know that by now."

"Yeah and what you don't know, you always find out." Aro laughed and then turned around. Shino was looking pointedly away. Of course it was him.

Christine stopped smiling once they reached a room. Tarlowe's office. She sighed, "We're here."

Tarlowe was at his desk. In the chair, Aro noticed. He barely looked up at the sound of the door opening. His brown eyes seemed sunken and the hair on his head and face was shaggy and unkempt. He knew they were coming. He must have just not cared.

"Tarlowe, how are you?" Aro breathed. It was a bit shocking to see the man reduced to this. It must have been even worse for Daniel.

"Well, I can't walk. That's one." His sarcasm was biting, "I'm in constant pain. That's two. Need I go on?"

"No, you've made your point. I apologize."

"You can apologize by keeping your end of the deal."

"That's what I came down here to do." Aro sat down, "It took a lot of convincing the Vanguard that you are owed this."

"Good to hear." Tarlowe shifted on his hand.

"In addition, I apologize for not coming to see you sooner. It was wrong of me. But let's get one thing straight." A stern tone entered Aro's voice, "You had no right to try and pressure your _little brother_ into telling you the info I'm about to tell you know. He was the first person to run into danger when you got shot and he stayed by your side the longest. He cried for you, Tarlowe."

"Why didn't he come see me earlier then?"

"He was scared, Tarlowe." Crona spoke up behind them, "He was scared to see you like this. He didn't know how he was going to react."

"He would apologize if he could but he's not really welcome in his own home anymore." Aro finished.

Tarlowe studied him, brown eyes boring into Aro's skull, as if reading his mind. He then shrugged and said, "Fair enough. Maya, wait for us outside."

"No." Aro said before the girl could leave, "The Speaker wants her to hear this as well."

Tarlowe's eyes narrowed but decided against arguing, "Fine. Speak."

"To give an overview," Aro started, "I am most likely responsible for the Collapse."

A pin dropping would have been loud at that point.

"Is this some kind of joke Aro?" Tarlowe demanded.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Aro shot back. When Tarlowe didn't answer, he continued, "While I have no memory of it, I unlocked some sort of gateway that allowed the Darkness here. We are not sure what it is but it is still inside me. The Gate has been used by other species before, we are just the most recent. But every time it had been used, it has taken that planet completely."

"Why didn't it take us?"

"It seems like something caused it to shut close too early. It was most likely my death. Now that I'm alive, it's ready to finish the job."

Tarlowe had a look on him that Aro had never seen before. It was nearly impossible to elicit a genuinely surprised look in the normally cold and distant man. But behind the disbelief in his eyes, Aro could see that Tarlowe knew he was telling the truth.

He turned slightly. Maya was a smart girl but even she looked almost hopelessly confused. Christine had her head in her hands, as if this was already too much.

Aro hadn't even gotten to the fun part yet.

"This is all...pretty heavy stuff." Tarlowe breathed.

"We couldn't risk this kind of info reaching the public. With the panic it would cause, we'd destroy ourselves long before the Gate can be opened again."

"But Aro…" Christine called out behind him, "What does this have to do with Vell? I'm not seeing the connection."

"Whenever the vessel for the Gate takes it inside them, they can command or at least coerce the armies of the Darkness into doing their bidding. I'm much too full of the Light to have this ability now. I'm not sure how it works. But they always choose an inner circle."

"Remember that mission to the Moon I told you about a while ago?" Shino said to Christine, "It was to find out what information the Hive had on the Gate. Mira, May and I didn't know it till after. That's how we ended up in the middle of all this."

"It's also where we met your uncle." Mira added, "It's where he almost killed all three of us."

"In all the alien languages that have come in contact with the Gate and the Darkness, this inner circle translates into "Heralds of Night"." Aro continued, "The vessel for the Gate chooses the first. Pride."

Tarlowe raised an eyebrow, "Pride?"

"They're named after the seven sins. Also a concept that exists in multiple alien cultures, not just us. The vessel can choose to name themselves Pride if they want to. Whoever I was before chose not to." Aro explained, watching Tarlowe to make sure he was keeping up, "Pride then proceeds to choose the others."

"What's their purpose? Why choose anyone?"

"To protect the Gate and prepare for it's opening. Whoever I chose as Pride is still out there. They were with me at the Collapse but they didn't die with me. They've been alive this entire time, choosing their inner circle. They somehow knew I would come back. Just not when."

"And Vell was forced into this?" Tarlowe growled.

" _Here's the fun part."_ Aro thought bitterly with a sigh, "No. They are offered a deal and they choose to take it. Vell chose to join them. As did Toland."

"Both of them?" Tarlowe fell back against the seat, softly shaking his head. Aro could hear Maya whispering "no, no, no" over and over again.

"What about Eris?" Christine almost stood up.

"If Vell and Toland were offered, we assume Eris Morn was offered too. She must have rejected it and chose to die instead."

"The seven." Tarlowe growled, "Who are they?"

"You've heard of Kabr?" Aro asked. Tarlowe nodded. "His name is now Wrath. Dredgen Yor is Lust. Toland was Gluttony. Vell is Greed and we've just recently discovered that Captain Andal Brask is Sloth. He attacked your brother and his team on Mars, just before you showed up at the Tower with Maya and her Ghost."

"Shit. I had no idea." Tarlowe muttered softly, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

"Andal Brask? What about Akira? Does she know?" Christine asked.

"We're planning to tell her and my brother. They can be helpful to our efforts to beat them." Crona answered softly.

"You said Toland _was_ Gluttony." Tarlowe pointed out.

"He lost control of his considerable powers. It was wild, unfocused and the only reason we were able to kill him. There are only six of them now. We have no clue who Envy is and even less on Pride's identity."

"But it was someone you knew."

"Yeah." Aro's head lowered, "Someone who was close to me. A friend. Or even a relative. But it makes me sick to think I could be the type of person to even consider making someone I care about into one of them. Makes me sick to think I actually was. Nothing they do compares to my actions. Whether I remember them or not."

A long silence followed. All three of them were struggling to take in everything he had just explained. He turned around to see Crona whispering to Maya. He couldn't hear what she was saying but Maya was nodding her head and wiping her eyes. He had no idea she had started crying. He admitted to himself that he could've tried to soften the blow a bit.

Aro sighed and stood, "Maybe we should've let Maya stay outside."

"She's a Guardian now, she should hear this." Crona said.

"I know but she's still just a little girl-"

"No." Maya interrupted, "I can handle it. And I want to start my training. Now." She had a fierce look in her eyes. A look that could easily be mistaken for anger or annoyance. But it was the same look her oldest siblings always had. The look that made Aro's heart melt anytime he saw it on Daniel.

"Alright." Aro smiled again, "Normally we have an aptitude test to determine what class you would best fit in."

"Titan's the best. Just saying." Shino leaned down and mumbled in her ear.

"You got yourself crushed by a Warsat, keep quiet." Mira snapped.

"I've actually always thought the Warlocks were cool." Maya said, "If I get to choose, I'd like to join their order."

Shino's large shoulders dropped in mock disappointment. Behind them, Aro had the biggest shit eating grin he could manage. Teeth and all, "Maya, come here for a second." He said, waving her over.

"Put your hands out." He commanded. When she did, he put his hands under hers, "Close your eyes and calm your mind. Focus on my voice and the sound of your own breathing."

"No flames in my home please." Tarlowe called.

"Don't worry, she's not ready for that. Now I want you to focus on a happy memory. Any you can think of. You can tell me if you want."

Her eyes squeezed tighter, "Last year. When you all came for my birthday. It reminded me what it was like before…Father, Uncle, Eris and Toland had left."

Aro's eyebrows raised. He had almost forgotten the party he was invited to after killing the Sepiks Prime. He never knew it meant so much to her.

And it had gotten the response he was looking for, "Open your eyes, Maya."

She did and gasped softly at what she saw. In the palm of her hand was a spinning ball or softly glowing Light. An ability Aro had surpassed before his first day of training but to Maya, it was the most amazing thing in the world. She moved her hands. The light moved with her. Even Christine and Tarlowe seemed enamored with it.

"So Warlock?" Aro asked.

Maya simply nodded, eyes never straying from the light. Even her Ghost had to come out and see this for itself.

"I thought so." Aro said, giving one more smug look to the others, "I'll bring over some books for you to read sometime soon, alright?"

Maya closed her hands, snuffing out the light, "Alright."

Aro straightened up, "I believe that's all. We'll take our leave."

"Aro. Wait." Aro stopped at the sound of his name. He turned to see Tarlowe rummaging through a drawer and started walking back.

"I'm proud, Aro. To a fault. Anyone can tell you that." Tarlowe sighed, "Except when it comes to my family. I have to look after them both physically and emotionally. And that means admitting when I'm wrong and when I've hurt them."

He slid a card and golden watch towards Aro, "Give these back to Daniel. Tell him he's welcome back home anytime. And that I'm sorry."

Aro smiled and pocketed the items, "I'll speak to him right away. Thank you."

Christine and Maya walked them out of Tarlowe's office. Christine walked ahead hand in hand with Shino, leaving Aro to close the door. He took one last look inside at Tarlowe, who had a troubled expression on his face. The man then let out a big sigh, pushing the shaggy hair out of his eyes before turning on the his computer. Several holographic images of varying weapons appeared in the air. Tarlowe started removing and adding parts of the weapons, oblivious to the fact that he was being watched.

Aro let the door slide close. He walked down the stairs to where the others were waiting. "Is something wrong?" Christine asked.

He shook his head, "Nah, I just saw Tarlowe messing around with what looked like weapons."

Her eyebrows raised, "He's designing again? That's…" she smiled, "That's very good to hear."

He reached the bottom of the stairs, "Thank you for everything you guys told us today." Christine said, "He really needed to hear it. We all did but especially him. We'll help you with this. In anyway we can. As a matter of fact, come back soon. If he's designing weapons again, he'll probably have something for you all pretty soon."

"And I didn't get him anything." Shino leaned down and kissed her forehead, "I'm a terrible brother in law."

"Getting ahead of yourself." Mira said, pushing past them and out the door.

"How? It's going to happen anyway. I'm going to propose. Ring bigger than your finger, hopefully in front of a very large crowd." He said thoughtfully.

"Please take him with you." Christine started laughing as the red started to creep up her neck, "I'm not dealing with him today."

"Just you wait!" Shino yelled as Mira dragged him out, admonishing him for "embarrassing her".

Aro quickly caught up with the others, feeling the items in his pocket and smiling to himself. He'll take his good moments, whenever he can get them. If there's one thing he's learned, it's that they are few and far between.

* * *

Erek took a hand out of his jacket and knocked on the closed door. A middle aged Awoken man opened the door soon after, drying his hands.

Erek smiled softly, "I'm sorry to bother you but are you closed?"

The man smiled back, "We're closing up but I have time for one more." The sun was going down for the day. More and more people were coming outside now that the heat was more bearable.

"I don't mean to intrude."

"Nonsense. I'm sure this is important. Come in." The man said, holding the door open wider.

Erek entered the flower shop. He opened his palm and released his Ghost, letting it float around the place.

"For someone special, I take it?" The man asked.

"Yeah. A girl." Erek said, drifting around the store, observing the flowers lining the walls.

"Any idea what she likes?"

"Roses. Dark red. We're both immigrants from Reef and she had always wanted to see them in person. She's loved them ever since."

"Immigrants from the Reef? So am I!" The man laughed, "Both me and my husband." The man went to the back and came out a few seconds later, carrying a bushel of the flowers. "He was from a higher class than me. Son of a Paladin, youngest of three. We ran as soon as we were able. We've been happy ever since but we both do miss home. He just started talking to his parents again. Is your situation anything similar?"

Erek paid and collected the flowers, "Yes. It's actually very much like that." he laughed.

"Hmm. I'm pretty sure you're the higher class one. You look like someone I've seen before."

"My mother." Erek said softly, smile faltering.

"Well, wherever you came from, I hope both of you are happy."

"Th-Thank you. Same to you and your husband." Erek's smile grew, touched. He left the store quickly, trying to wipe his eyes as discreetly as possible.

Erek slowly walked down the sidewalk, flowers held tightly. He often passed by children, who would grow silent and stare at his Ghost. Some of the braver ones came up and asked what he had named it. His Ghost, however, preferred to introduce itself, despite how often the kids were startled.

As the noise of downtown went down, the lump in his throat tightened. He wanted to turn around. But he needed to do this.

The cemetery came into view. People preferred it away from the rest of the City, to give the dead their peace.

It took some doing but he found the headstone he was looking for. He hadn't visited it in awhile. But he was glad to see that it was still in good shape.

He sat down in front of it, placing the flowers down right under the single name. _Eren_. His Ghost peered at the grave of its namesake, "So this is her."

"Yeah. This is her."

He was quiet again for speaking, "Hi Eren. It's… _*sigh*_ it's been a long time."

He was struggling to find words, "I'm sorry I've been gone so long. And I'm sorry…" he swallowed the lump in his throat, "I'm sorry I gave up. Sometimes I wonder if you're disappointed in me but you have to understand, I was at the lowest point I had ever been."

He laughed slightly, "Look at me. I'm still making excuses." he continued, "You probably did understand. I don't know if it is true or not and I doubt I'll ever know. But I like to think that you sent my Ghost. You knew I wasn't in my right mind. That I'd do something…drastic." He looked up at the cloudless sky, "Even gone, you're still looking out for me. So thank you."

His voice cracked with emotion he couldn't bring himself to let go of, "Thank you." he said again, "Thank you for sending my Ghost. Sending me Daniel, Kayla and the others. Thank you for being my reason to fight. Thank you…for letting me call you mine. It was only a short while, but it was an honor I'll never forget."

He paused and then asked, "How long have you guys been standing there?"

"Long enough." A voice replied. Crona.

"You really can't sneak up on him, can you?" He heard Shino ask, followed by the sound of someone hitting him. Probably Mira.

He looked behind himself at the others. They really had been standing there for a while "I apologize for not trying to talk to you earlier. Using _Truth_ in that fight. Took a lot out of me."

"Nothing to worry about. We're glad you're ok."

Kayla then sat to his right. Daniel to his left. Aro, Asura, Crona, Shino, May and Mira behind him.

A few more minutes of silence followed. The only sound being the wind shaking the leaves of the trees. Erek let out a shaky breath, "I want to apologize, Kayla. For what I said before." he said, speaking to everyone now.

Kayla put her warm, metallic hand on his, "There's nothing to forgive."

Daniel wrapped his arm around his shoulders, "Nothing at all."

Erek breathed out. The sobs wracked his body and the tears fell again. He didn't fight it this time. He let everything out, sobbing softly to himself. He knew he had to be strong. But even Guardians needed a break. He could here May sniff behind him.

For the next half hour, no one talked. The sun was almost gone and lights were coming on. But he wasn't ready to leave yet.

"You guys can go if you want. I'll be fine. I promise."

Asura chuckled tiredly, "As…tempting as that sounds, we want to be here. With you."

Erek laughed too, "If you want to. So…Sora, Jessie and Katrina know now. Anyone else?"

"I went to talk to the Suros' with Mira, Shino and Crona." Aro answered, "They know now too. Xur also seems to have always known. Especially about me. And Asura."

"What about your brother and his wife, Crona?"

"Father and I will talk with them soon. We're just trying to think of the best way to break the news. Shin Malphur and Lord Shaxx were informed by the Vanguard the night after Greed escaped. It was Malphur who figured out Sloth was Captain Andal."

"Are they sure it's a good idea? Too many people are being told. This really could cause a mass panic."

"And that should be the last of it. We've only been ordered to tell the people who can help us. Z can keep the Consensus off our backs, for example. At least until we beat this."

Erek sighed, "…Can we beat them? Can we beat this?"

No one spoke for some time before Aro answered, "When we saw Gluttony and the others on the Moon, he told me that they were by no means immortal. He was right because he's gone now. We just have to do it six more times."

"Easier said than done."

"More impossible things have been done before."

"Speaking of which," Erek turned slightly, "Are you going to name our clan yet or…"

"Fine. Only because I'm sick of being asked." Aro groaned, amused. "Will of Light. There, you happy?"

"Will of Light? Not bad. I like it." Erek breathed out before standing up, "Well then, I'm done here."

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked, standing with him.

"Yes. I am." He answered, stretching. It was dark now, "We've got a lot of work to do."

He started walking back towards home. Once they had left the cemetery gates, he looked back at Eren's grave, " _I won't be gone as long. I'll be back soon. I promise."_

The wind picked up slightly, causing one of the roses to roll out of the pack towards his feet. He smiled softly before picking it up. He remembered all the nights he held her in his arms and she held him back. How soft her skin felt against his.

The night was cold. And yet he didn't feel it. In fact, he had never felt warmer in his entire life.

It almost felt like he was being held again.

* * *

 _And that's a wrap for Book 2. I really do hope you all enjoyed this._

 _Book 3's title is still in the works but I will update this book one more time to tell you when it comes out._

 _The closing theme for "Beast of the Void." Is "_ _ **Seasons Die One by One" Amazarshi.**_

 _Song list(so far)_

 _"Again" by Yui(Book 1 opening)_

 _"Papermoon" by Tommy Heavenly(Book 1 closing)_

 _"Bluebird" by Ikimono Gakari(Book 2 opening)_

 _"This Beautiful Cruel World"-Linkin Horizon (Erek's Theme)_

 _"Size of the Moon"-Nogizaki46 (Gluttony/Toland's Theme)_

 _"Seasons Die One by One" by Amazarshi(Book 2 closing)_

 ** _This book will only be updated one last time to tell you all that Book 3 is up_**


	40. Finale BOV

Book 3 is up

"Beast of the Void" will no longer be updated


End file.
